‘It has been one of my dreams since I was a kid’ - Kildare boxer ahead of professional debut

Kildare Town native Kelsey Leonard will become just the fourth active Irish female boxer when she faces Kira Carter at Girdwood Community Hub, Belfast on August 2. The fight will be broadcast on the Spórt TG4 YouTube channel.

Along with the likes of Gary Cully, Kelsey fights out of UNIT 3: Health and Fitness Naas, where, in many ways, she has grown alongside the gym itself.

“I came in here when it was a much smaller unit and it has just expanded and expanded ever since. It has everything that you need here,” she said.

“I have always had (turning professional) in my head. It has been one of my dreams since I was a kid. Coming here (UNIT 3) enhanced that and training around professionals and like a professional. Training with Niall (Barrett) and being in that environment made me want to do it even more. That has been the past two years. I have taken the last year to get experience, fight internationally, and fight on a couple of pro shows and then turned pro myself this year.”

Both Kelsey and UNIT 3 have a misleading facade, but, while UNIT 3’s small visage opens into room after room of an elite training centre, Kelsey’s kind demeanour turns to opening up opponents when the bell rings.

The genesis of her boxing journey was as simple as it gets with a young, sport-mad Kelsey grabbing a leaflet in the Curragh primary school that had been dropped down by the head coach of the local boxing club.

“My Dad did a little bit of boxing when he was a teenager, but it was never something that was in the family. I picked it up (the leaflet) and said ‘I have to try this’. I had to give it a go and then when I went down there I was like ‘yeah…this is gonna stick’. This is the one for me,” she said.

“I caught on very quickly. Once I got in, it was very natural to me for whatever reason. I had a couple of fights and started winning them, I think what I was so drawn to was winning. I loved winning in everything I did and when that began to happen with fights, I knew I was good at it and knew I liked this feeling. I got my first Irish title, I loved it, and was addicted to doing it. It has just gone on from there.”

Turning professional is the start of a new chapter for the smiley and charming Kildare Town fighter, but it has been a long road to get here for the 26 year-old with eight national titles under her belt. As well as rampant success at home, the future featherweight debutant has scratched France, Germany, Taiwan, and Canada off her travel map during her fighting expeditions.

“Taiwan is one that is stuck in my head. That was the World Championships, so to get selected for that and represent my country was huge for me, especially at that age. It is such a different culture over there so it was great to be able to experience that and to get in the ring with the highest level people over there too,” Kelsey recalled.

“To turn professional was one of my goals, but to go to the Olympics was also a dream of mine and I think every amateur has that at some point. Leading up to that with representing Ireland, your club, your town, and making all those people proud was amazing. The Olympics didn’t work out for me so I am moving onto my other ambition, but to experience all the things that have come with international competition was great.”

Right behind Kelsey on that journey has been her family of now enthusiastic boxing fans, who have backed her from a child trying a new hobby at the local boxing club to a new featherweight prospect.

She said, “I am so lucky, my family has been so supportive. Whatever I do, they will come. They have been to all my fights. Screaming in the stands, they get very into it and they have travelled across Europe and the world with me. They are so supportive. They have always been in my corner.”

But is it screaming or watching through the fingers?

“It’s a little bit of both,” Kelsey explained. It is some screams and then covering their eyes then screaming again. It is funny. Sometimes I am in the ring and I can hear them and I’m like ‘oh God that is my family’.”

As well as tallying up wins on the global stage, Kelsey has caught the eye on her travels too, winning Best Boxer at the Rome Box Cup, Porto Box Cup, as well as at the largest female only boxing tournament in Europe, the Esker All-Female Box Cup.

“Winning the tournament is what you enter to do and that is always the goal, but to get that cherry on top is the best feeling. You get a nice belt as well,” Kelsey grinned.

Perhaps Kelsey's finest achievement to date was coming out on top in her weight division at the prestigious Haringey Box Cup. The biggest tournament of its kind in Europe, which has been won by Katie Taylor and Anthony Joshua, as well as a couple of UNIT 3’s own.

“It is cool that I have won it, Gary (Cully) has won it, and Paul Loonam has. We have our pictures out there on the wall with our medals. Obviously, Anthony Joshua and Katie Taylor, those types have won it and it was on DAZN this year so it is a huge tournament. It was always one that I wanted to go into after seeing the people that came before me who had won it, so to win that was special and it was one of my favourite tournaments that I have boxed in.”

Alongside her widespread amateur success, Kelsey has been journeying to gain further experience in gyms around the world and acquire invaluable knowledge as she looks towards her professional debut. Kelsey has sparred elite fighters such as

Australian boxer and former WBC Featherweight World Champion Skye Nicholson and former WBO female World lightweight champion Rhiannon Dixon, both of whom are very much still in their prime years.

She explained, “That is what is so great about here (UNIT 3), there are so many connections through Niall and Gary. It was great being over in that environment, going to a couple of pro gyms with European and World Champions. It’s crazy, but boxing gyms just have a certain environment. When you are headed over you are thinking ‘she’s a big deal’ and when you’re in there everyone is just chatting and it is just so welcoming. The experience and the learnings from them was second to none, it was amazing.”

“You just come in and you’re instantly welcome and then you get in, try to take the head off each other, and then you’re friends again,” she laughed.

Kelsey is now just weeks away from her debut on August 2 against Kira Carter and has been focused on the 25 year-old British boxer since she received a spot on the MHD Promotions ‘Maximum Risk’ card six weeks out.

“I am excited to get in and see where I’m at. It is obviously so different so I am looking forward to getting in, getting a feel for it, and getting the journey started. I am so grateful to Mark Dunlop and MHD promotions for putting on and on a good card,” she said.

“It is really exciting and hopefully we get a big crowd from Naas and Kildare going up. I am incredibly excited for it.”

You can buy tickets by clicking the link here or by contacting Niall Barrett (see below).

Kelsey is grateful to the continued support of her sponsors; UNIT 3: Health and Fitness Naas, Sli Beatha Floathouse Naas, SDK Detailing, Brendan Conlan Automobiles, The Unit Recovery. If any companies would like to help Kelsey out with sponsorship they can contact her manager and coach Niall Barrett at niall.barrett@yahoo.com or on 087-2852774.

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