Adam Moynihan speaks to Milltown native and pro boxer Kevin Cronin (aka The Kingdom Warrior) about his plans for 2021

Hi Kevin. How is the latest lockdown going for you?

It hasn’t been too bad. In terms of work, we’re essential (Kevin is a fire officer) so we’ve been working through it all. Since the second lockdown, when they said that the elite and professional sports could train, that’s suiting me as well. Myself and my coach can still train away so the lockdown hasn’t really affected us in that sense.

How is the schedule looking for 2021? Any fights on the horizon?

It’s looking good but then again, with the crisis we’re in, we don’t know what’s around the corner. Things could change again very quickly. But at the minute we have a fight signed and sealed for six weeks’ time. I just need to be given the go-ahead to announce it. So we’re training hard towards that and everything is going well. It’s looking like we’ll get four or five fights in this year and hopefully if crowds can get back in before the end of the year, we’ll get a big one in then.

You must be looking forward to getting back in the ring?

Yeah. It’s going to be different. I’ve never been out of the ring for this long before. Obviously, there are pluses and minuses to it. There will be ring rust when I get back in there, it might take me a few rounds to settle into it. Although, who knows? I might settle back in faster than I think.

On the plus side, I’ve had a lot of time to work on bits. I’ve been able to take a step back, look at things, watch videos of my fights, and see a lot of places where I was doing stuff that I shouldn’t have been doing. I was able to work on that throughout 2020, which was a massive plus.

You signed your pro contract in 2018. What are the main differences you’ve noticed between amateur and pro boxing?

In the amateurs, you’re kind of thrown into a sprint. You have three rounds to score what points you can. It’s a very active three rounds – you just have to outwork your man. Going into the pros, the main thing is that you have to sit down on your punches more. You have smaller gloves. It’s down to the style of the fighter too; for me, at the weight I’m fighting at (light heavyweight), I have a size advantage and I’d be well able to bang as well. It’s about planting my feet a bit more, sitting down on the shots, throwing the weight from my feet up rather than throwing with my arms. When you throw with your arms, it takes away from the power. It might make a bigger bang but there’s actually a lot less power behind it.

My timing wouldn’t have been great in the amateurs. I was at a heavier weight class as well but I was really, really trying to outwork my opponent, so I wasn’t able to get my timing completely right. Now, with the longer rounds, I’m able to chillax a bit more. I was always a slow starter and that’s going to suit me now because I can relax and work my way into a fight.

If you had to compare yourself to another pro fighter, who would it be?

Going off my first two fights, if I was to go off a very high-level fighter, you would probably say Artur Beterbiev. I always watch him and I love his style, and it’s kind of like my own. Walking down and breaking down my man, leaving off the power shots, because he carries a lot of power too.

But over the lockdown I’ve developed a different style. I’ve kind of turned myself into a counter-puncher. My timing has come on a lot and it has changed my style completely. To be honest with you, I’ve turned myself from a fighter into a boxer. It’s nice to have two different styles because if a fight isn’t going your way, you have something else you can change to.

If you could fight any boxer in the world, past or present, who would it be?

Past or present? Oh, God… I could shout out names here and I’d be out of my depth! I’d like to share the ring with the likes of Artur Beterbiev, but I would be nowhere near that level as of yet. I’m hoping that a couple of years down the line I’ll get to that level and be able to share the ring with people like that.

At the present, the person I want to fight at domestic level is Taylor McGoldrick. And I want that fight this year.

Did I see McGoldrick making some comments about you on Twitter?

There’s a lot of comments on Twitter! Yeah, during the lockdown I was offered a fight on ESPN and DAZN behind closed doors. At that point I was ranked No. 1 at light heavyweight in Ireland on BoxRec. They had McGoldrick, who fights out of Belfast and would be higher than me in the world rankings. They called my manager and asked if I’d be interested. I said I was game, it suited me perfect. I accepted that fight verbally. It was a great opportunity because he’s an MTK fighter and he’d be expected to beat me. If I could go in and pull off a shock, it’d push me onto the big stage. But that was kind of forgotten about.

Coming into the New Year, Irish Boxing got onto me and I said I wanted that McGoldrick fight. Not to be cocky, but I think we’re the two best fighters at the weight in Ireland right now, so I’d hate for fans down the line to be wondering what would have happened.

But yeah, he threw back a few comments. I can’t even remember what he said. I didn’t pay too much attention to them. I did fire back at him and over the past few weeks things have gotten very heated. All of a sudden it’s kind of the most wanted fight in Ireland right now. IrishBoxing.com have made it clear that this is the fight for 2021.

Definitely one to keep an eye on. Last question before I let you go: what’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?

Don’t take yourself too seriously.

Thanks Kevin. Speak to you again soon.

Thanks Adam.