Hollywood good looks don't matter much in the world of mixed martial arts, but Andy Lee-coached, Matchroom-promoted high-profile heavy hitter Paddy Donovan insists only a few hurdles stand between him and world title destiny. Lewis Evans We spoke to the talented southpaw ahead of his big showdown against Lewis Ritson tomorrow night.
What is your earliest memory of fighting?
I grew up in a very poor family. My father is a boxing coach and former boxer who opened his own gym in Limerick city in 2003. I grew up fighting in the streets. My family, cousins, brothers all loved to fight. I had to be tough and fight for myself.
my brother [Edward] My uncle is also a pro. My uncle has won numerous national titles. My cousin Jim is getting ready to turn pro with Andy. [Lee]We were always on the front lines of the battle, always fighting. Usually, rather than kicking a football or playing hurling, me and my brother would be outside the house putting on boxing gloves. After school, we would go out to the front garden where there was a box. Before we even got to the gym, we'd be fighting for an hour. It was boxing, boxing, boxing.
My dad always saw something in me. He always knew I would be big in boxing. Everyone I met at tournaments said I would be a world champion and a star for Ireland. But I didn't think so. Boxing is all I've ever known. I wasn't very good at anything else. I wasn't good at other sports, I wasn't good at school. I just knew martial arts and then people started to take notice.
You have a very explosive and exciting style, how did it develop?
I was born very talented. Boxing was never really something I loved in my life. But I didn't lose in the amateurs. I kept winning, I was 35 fights undefeated at one point. And then when I got to the European and world amateur level at 17-18 years old, people started to take notice and they wanted to see more of me. I started looking at myself and thinking, 'Wait a second, I can do something here.' I realized I could make a living at this and provide for my family.
Since then, I believed I could become a world champion in boxing and change my family's life. That was my goal. But now I'm almost there. I'm being trained by one of the best coaches in the world. [Andy Lee] And he signed with the best promoter in the world. [Eddie Hearn]I feel like I'm destined to be a world champion.
How would you define the art of KO?
I have the highest knockout rate in the history of Irish amateur boxing. Everyone said, “This guy deserves to be a pro.” I have nine knockouts out of 10 fights. And for every fight that lasts a full round, I have another seven or eight knockouts.
Natural ability plays a big role. Andy has some good fighters in his gym, including some very strong punchers, but they don't have the “know-how” to KO. You can't train a KO; it comes naturally. As you move up the levels, a good coach helps you sneak in the knockout shot at the right time and place. Andy designs a lot of these shots for me. That's what we do in the gym. We work on hitting and not getting hit, hitting cleanly, and setting up the killer punch. That's what I've been doing for the last few years. When I turned pro, Andy said, “Paddy, hopefully you can get a 50% KO rate in 10 fights.” My KO rate in 13 fights is around 80%. [laughs].Not so bad!
Why is Andy Lee the right coach for you? What is special about your relationship?
I see Andy not only as a coach, but as a great person. It's just fun to be with him. Since I turned pro, he has never taken a penny from me. He has never taken money from my corner or from my expenses. He has done everything for me. Andy has seen a lot of himself in me since I started my professional career. He is more like a father than a boxing coach. We have a great relationship. There has never been a falling out or an argument. I have done everything he said, no matter the cost.
What is the best advice Andy has given you in life?
Stay humble. Keep going to the gym. I have a young family. [wife, Ellie, and three children], [Andy says] Take care of your kids and stay away from bad company. When I started professional boxing I was a wild, cocky kid. I just wanted to have fun. As the years went by I started to settle down. My number one priority was to take care of my wife and kids and build a future for them. Andy helped me do just that.
Andy has had a fantastic education working under Emanuel Steward and Adam Booth, where do you see that influence in the gym?
[I liken myself more to] Emanuel Steward's fighter. Andy is influenced a little bit by Adam, a little bit by Emanuel, and of course by me. I look closely at Emanuel and Adam's work from time to time, and I see a lot of Andy in their work. But the history and culture of Emanuel and Kronk is still very much in Andy's heart. We identify a little bit with them and their style.
DUBLIN, IRELAND – NOVEMBER 25: Paddy Donovan's head coach Andy Lee looks on before the welterweight bout between Paddy Donovan and Danny Ball at 3Arena Dublin on November 25, 2023 in Dublin, Ireland. (Photo by James Chance/Getty Images)
How would you assess the current state of boxing in Ireland?
[Standards of] Irish boxing has always been at a very high standard, even when Andy and I were amateurs. The Irish team was always one step ahead of the British team. Now we're a lot more recognised. We don't have to go to America or fly overseas. Eddie [Hearn] Coming to Ireland to play two huge shows for Katy [Taylor]”It meant so much to give an opportunity to myself, Gary Currie, Thomas Carty, Kaoin Agyarko, Lewis Crocker and all the other fighters. The talent was always there, we just needed the recognition and now we're getting it.”
I would love to fight Crocker. It would be a great fight for the Irish fans. This is why we are in boxing. I've known him since I was quite young. He's 28, three years older than me. Everywhere I go, people ask me: 'When are you going to fight Crocker? Are you going to take the fight?' It could be, it could happen. I don't want to go into too much detail, but it's a fight we want.
If I, with my amateur pedigree, my team with Andy Lee, well-bred by Top Rank and signed by Eddie Hearn, can't be “World Champion”, then God bless the rest of the Irish fighters! Who else can? [become champion] And if I do all that and it doesn't work? I will be a world champion. I believe that. I know what I have to do and it's not going to be easy. I have a big fight coming up with Lewis Ritson and I know I have another fight coming up. I don't want to give anything away yet, but I'm ready to go for a world title. I just need two more wins and I'll be ready.
Have you always liked being in the spotlight?
I've always loved being the center of attention in the ring and I've garnered attention at every show I've been to. I performed very well on the first card with Taylor vs. Catterall and also got a knockout on Katie Taylor vs. Chantelle Cameron II. I've performed well at all the big shows.
I love the attention and everything it brings. I love match week, the interviews, people talking about me and having fun in the bar. It's a great feeling to be recognised everywhere, whether it's at home or in Dublin. It's great to see someone from a traveller's background, with no education, being so successful. It's great for me, it's great for all the young travellers and it's great for the people of Ireland. They know they could be stars.
How much interaction do you have with American audiences?
I always [US-based] Keith Sullivan, my co-manager. I'm on the radio and in the papers in New York. I'm always in the spotlight over there. I think I have a lot of fans over there. The last time I was in America, I was at Madison Square Garden. [New York Knicks] With the jersey on, Andy was asked to headline the next game or the next, which was a few months before I went to watch Jason Quigley play.
If I can get to America, if I can cross that line, I'm sure I can do great things there. When I was with Top Rank during the COVID pandemic, things just didn't work out at the last minute. I was supposed to fight there in 2021. I was on a plane, all ready to go, and it just didn't work out. Dancing in New York and headlining MSG are goals I want to achieve.
Edgar Berlanga beats Jason Quigley in New York
How do you handle pressure?
Of course, you always feel it in big fights. Now, especially in Ireland, the expectations for every fight are so high. Everyone believes I will win. Everyone believes I will perform well. But I don't think so. I know I put in a lot of effort and had to leave my family. Just let me get in the ring and fight. It's all in God's hands. If I win, I win, if I lose, I lose. Let's do it again. It's not the end of the world.
I love to compete, I love to enjoy it, but if I let it get to my head and put pressure on myself, then my performance won't be good. [the fight] It all passes in an instant and becomes just a memory. Next thing I know, I'm back with my wife and kids and I can relive the memories. It all happens so quickly that it passes by as a formality.
But when I think about it, I have done nothing. If I don't become a world champion, this journey in professional boxing will be a complete failure. My talent and my team deserve a world title.
Statistically, men who travel are seven times more likely to commit suicide in Ireland than men who don't travel. From your perspective, why do the statistics show this?
That's an answer that no one can give clearly. We ask this question over and over again. It's happened to our family three times in the last 10 years. We know it's out there and it's alive. It's killing about eight people per traveler. It's eight suicides per generation! We're trying to find a solution. Everyone we meet [whose family has been a victim of suicide] We ask, “Why do you think they did it? What made them do it?” I don't know. All I can say is, there is help. There are people you can talk to. They can always contact me, they can contact my team. Pieta House is always there. The phone number is 1800 247 247. They are the best team in Ireland.
I can't point it out directly. There are two deaths in my family. [suicides] I've learned a lot over the past two and a half years. I'd be lying if I said I knew the answers. What makes someone leave this world? I don't know. I want every family in Ireland to know. Hopefully they can change their mind and get in touch with people who can help.
How do you want to be remembered as a fighter?
A man who changed Irish boxing, a man people looked up to. A good man in and out of the ring, a “world champion.” [when Donovan hangs up the gloves] To give back to the people of the city [Limerick] And to give back to Ireland, to young Irish boxers and to nurture kids who want to be the next me. If I become a “world champion” and achieve what I have envisioned in my head, I will be very well liked in Ireland.
