Connor Coyle promises 'Fire on the Bay' this weekend!

Connor Coyle (18-0) wants to add more knockouts to his portfolio as he prepares for his first fight of 2023 against Fernando Farias this Saturday.

The Derry boxer, now number four in the world, will defend his NABA title against the Argentinian as part of the co-main event of the ‘Fire on the Bay’ show in St. Petersburg. Florida. It is Coyle’s first time in the ring since defeating Sladan Janjanin back in December, and as usual, he is eager to get to it as soon as possible.

“It’s the first fight of the year and we’re planning to get it off to a banging start,” he said. “We’re looking forward to getting into the ring on Saturday night, getting the business done again and progressing on to bigger fights towards the end of the year.”

There is no doubt that Coyle is making a name for himself in the middleweight world, and he saw that for himself recently, with the 32-year-old clearing gaining respect amongst his peers.

“I was in Vegas at the weekend and there were guys coming up to me and introducing themselves. They knew who I was, but I didn’t have a clue who they were,” he laughed. “Even famous professional boxers knew who I was so obviously I’m doing something right because people know my name now and I’m out there in the middleweight division. I’m number four at the minute but after I defend this belt on Saturday night, I’ll probably move into the top two. After that there will be the possibility of a world title shot then very, very soon.”

While Saturday’s bout is a mandatory defence, it is nonetheless a roadblock in the way of what could be huge plans for Coyle in the remainder of 2023, including, potentially, a fight in Belfast.  

“Farias a name that the WBA has put forward for us,” he explained. “It’s obviously a challenge so we have got to take care of him on Saturday night and keep moving forward. They keep standing them up and I’ll just have to keep knocking them down.

“We have come this far now so I’m just going to keep focused and stay determined. Nothing changes. The end goal is to become world champion, and then multiple world titles after that. The end goal is world champion and we’ll just keep going from that once we get the belt around my waist and I’m world champion.”

Coyle is firmly of the belief that one phone call could change everything in the coming months, and he is determined to be ready should that call come.

“I’m just staying focused on this fight on Saturday,” he added. “That’s all I can do. Once I take care of that, I’ll just come home and enjoy some down time with the family and then my coach will give me a call and let me know what the plans are for the next step. I’ll be back in the gym again when I’m home because I want to keep myself in shape. A phone call could come in for a big fight at any point and I want to be ready.”

‘Selective shots’

At 18-0, Coyle’s record is already very impressive, but he is now eager to add to his eight knockouts, with what he describes as ‘inexperience’ costing him KO’s in the past.

“At this stage of my career, I want to sit down a bit more on my punches, especially moving up the levels,” he said.

“I want to fight a little but more, but do it smartly. I want to throw a lot more selective power shots and I want to knock my opponents out now and I don’t care what round. Obviously, everyone wants to get it done as soon as possible because you’re not paid for overtime, but I want to start getting the KO’s and rack them up. That will help my portfolio as well, so I want to start sitting down on my shots that we’ve been working on and start emptying my opponents.

“The more KO’s the better it looks for your record. I’ve had eight Kos, but I’ve had another seven of my opponents on the ground which could have been stoppages. That was just inexperience at my end. Once I hurt the opponents I just rushed and just smothered my punches. I’ve been working on that so once I hurt them I don’t rush in, I just take my time and select my shots, and once you do that I’ll have a lot more knockouts.”

There is a skip in Coyle’s step this week ahead of his latest fight, with all the hard work coming down to just a few minutes in the ring each and every time. He enjoys every minute of it though.

“Fight week is always the best,” he insisted. “I really enjoy fight week because I’m always on point withy my weight. I don’t have to kill myself for days without eating. I eat right up until the day of the weigh in and I have my coffee on the morning of the weigh in.

“Fight week is a good energy boost for me, knowing that I’m going to get in and get the business done which is what we have prepared for. Afterwards I’ll get my rewards, I’ll get my title, anther belt and I get to come home then and spend time with my family.”

Sponsors

Connor would like to thank the following for their continued support:

KSK Rathmor Engineering, Indigo Interiors NY, Phones.Connect, Classique Floor Designs, The Bentley Bar, (Celtic Bar), The Thirsty Goat, The Sooty Olive, Curley’s Car Sales, Paul’s Butchers and Brooklands Fencing.