Kelsey primed for debut professional fight

Kelsey Leonard makes her professional debut against England’s Kira Carter in Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast on this Saturday night, a fight that will be shown live on TG4 YouTube. The 26 year old Kildare boxer, who boxes under Niall Barrett in UNIT 3 Health and Fitness, Naas, turned professional only last month after a very successful amateur career in Ireland.

Before travelling up to camp in Belfast this week Kelsey spoke with The Kildare Nationalist and she admitted that there was very little difference between preparations for Saturday’s fight and her amateur days. “I’ve been training professionally for a few years now so this isn’t new,” she explained. “There have been some small changes though because as a pro I will be doing four by two-minute rounds instead of three-by-three so the rounds are a lot more intense. It is like doing sprints rather than a jog. Training has been tailored to replicate that,” she explained.

Sparring has been good for Leonard also. “I’ve been getting great rounds with local Kildare boxer Ester Lambe who has been a huge help in my preparations,” she told us. “I’ve also flown over to Liverpool to get sparring rounds with professional fighter Olivia Holmes and Jade Jones, two-time Olympic champion.” 

Leonard also praised her manager, Niall Barrett. 

“He has so much knowledge of the pro game and has history in this area with Gary Cully, Katelynn Phelan and Paul Loonam. I have been able to put my trust in him and his guidance in and out of the ring has been invaluable.” 

Having “The Sarto Diva” Gary Cully as an advisor and training partner has been beneficial to Kelsey Leonard too. “He has always been the person to push everyone in the gym and make everyone want to do better but being able to learn from his experiences as a pro has helped me settle into this scene so much easier. I am also lucky enough to have Diva Coffee Co. as a sponsor for this camp so that has helped me so much,” she added.

Kelsey weigh in on Friday in Belfast. 

“I will be fighting late on Saturday so we will be doing late sessions this week to get my body used to training at that time. It will be short explosive sessions to keep me ready for Saturday night,” she explained. 

Her opponent, Kira Carter is a two-time English Amateur Champion and has gone the distance with two of the three European Champions that she has fought in her 20-fight professional career. Kelsey is very grateful for the continued support of her sponsors including UNIT 3: Health and Fitness Naas, Diva Coffee Co, Sli Beatha Floathouse Naas, The Unit Recovery Naas, Brendan Conlan Automobiles, The Curragh Racecourse, Fightstore Ireland and SDK Detailing.

“I get nervous for every fight but nerves for me are excitement and it means that you care about the thing you are about to do. I get confidence when I feel those butterflies as I know that I am going to be switched on and focused in the fight,” Kelsey Leonard concluded.