\n Carrigan, from Carlisle, is on the undercard at the Next King of Scotland show in Glasgow, where his four-round super-welterweight bout with Poland\u2019s Dawid Przybylski is a much-anticipated contest for the many observers who feel Carrigan is a world champion in the making.\n<\/p>\n
\n The 18-year-old swept through the amateur game, winning titles at regional, national and international level, becoming World Under-19 champion last year. Now signed to Frank Warren\u2019s promotion company Queensberry, and managed by the legendary Shelly Finkel, Carrigan carries big expectations to Scotland\u2019s capital as he fights Przybylski.\n<\/p>\n
\n He is aware of the need to stand out now that he is in the pro arena. \u201cYou can\u2019t just look like a big, boring boxer,\u201d he says. \u201cYou\u2019ve got to have those eyecatching moments. But I\u2019ve got to stay cool about it. Don\u2019t play to the crowd, keep to the game plan and try and enjoy it.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan appears relaxed as we talk in the Tenacity gym in Hartlepool, his base since turning pro. Having learned his craft at Border City Amateur Boxing Club in Carlisle, these are the next steps for someone described by Queensberry as “the best prospect in world boxing.”\n<\/p>\n
\n How does he feel about such billing? \u201cIt\u2019s nice for people to say that. But it shouldn\u2019t cross your mind too much. Anyone can say you\u2019re the top prospect, but you\u2019ve got to prove it, haven\u2019t you?\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan trains with coach John Stubbs at the Tenacity gym in Hartlepool – his base since turning professional earlier this year (Image: Jon Colman)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI\u2019ve always had expectations and pressure in Carlisle. Every time I entered a box cup or championship, everyone thought, \u2018Yeah, he\u2019s going to win it\u2019. So it\u2019s normal. I put pressure on myself, and I think it\u2019s good. I must be doing something right if people are watching me and saying those things.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan was a six-year-old with little grasp of boxing when he first joined Border City under the eye of Ian Archibald and his fellow coaches. He followed his big cousin, Isaac, to the gym and steadily learned both the craft of boxing and his own developing passion for it.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cMum and dad brought Isaac down, so I trained with him for a few sessions, and ever since I\u2019ve always been around it. I loved it. I always watched boxing on the telly, but that was the first time I really thought about it.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI didn\u2019t take it that seriously to start with. But after I won my first junior title, I thought, \u2018I must be good at this\u2019. So I started getting my weight down, dieting a bit more. You\u2019ve got to be dedicated, haven\u2019t you? You can\u2019t just leave the gym and go to McDonald\u2019s. I mean, I wish you could, but\u2026\u2019\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan flourished at Border City and titles followed in prolific sequence. As he progressed to the England scene he also came on the radar of Tenacity. Archibald had long urged the north east club to take a look at the rising young star, and Carrigan trained there ahead of his World Under-19 campaign, where he was victorious in Colorado by defeating Brazil\u2019s Gabriel Dias Dos Santos in the Under-70kg final.\n<\/p>\n
\n Since then he retained his national youth title before turning pro when he became 18. He last boxed in February. \u201cI can\u2019t wait to be back,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve had a few dates I\u2019ve been training for, but the [fight] was pushed back. So I\u2019m more than ready to go.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Star names… Carrigan is managed by the legendary American, Shelly Finkel, left, and is also signed to Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, right (Image: PA)\n<\/p>\n
\n As Carrigan linked up with Tenacity, he was also signed by two major names in Shelly Finkel and Frank Warren. Finkel has managed some of the greatest names in boxing, from Mike Tyson to Manny Pacquiao and Evander Holyfield. \u201cHe\u2019s done that with them, so there\u2019s no reason he can\u2019t do it with me,\u201d Carrigan says.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cHe\u2019s always on the phone, most days, asking how training\u2019s going, just making sure I\u2019m feeling alright. You feel you\u2019re in good hands with him. He\u2019s a man of his word. He knows what he\u2019s doing.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Warren\u2019s Queensberry Promotions were also quick to snap up Carrigan. \u201cEver since I wanted to turn pro, I always wanted to sign with Queensberry,\u201d he says. \u201cI\u2019ve had a few conversations with [Warren], back and forth. He\u2019s just said to keep my head down in the gym. If you see him at a boxing show, he\u2019ll just come over and talk. He\u2019s just like a normal person, to be honest.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhen I was at the the Josh Taylor show in Glasgow, his two sons were straight over to me too. They\u2019re looking after me, trying to get my name out there.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Queensberry oversee the careers of some enviable names, among them Tyson Fury, Daniel Dubois and Joseph Parker. Does Carrigan try to emulate any star in particular? \u201cThere\u2019s lots you can look up to. Billy Joe Saunders\u2019 little movements, Terence Crawford\u2026but everyone\u2019s different. I wouldn\u2019t say I want to be like this boxer [in particular]. I\u2019ve got a style of John Joe Carrigan.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan is unfazed about taking on a more experienced customer in Przybylski, having mainly faced boxers his own age during his amateur rise. \u201cI\u2019ve always sparred men since I was 12. I\u2019ve always jumped in with anyone. I\u2019m not really bothered.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan, guided by Border City Amateur Boxing Club in Carlisle, won an impressive series of junior and youth titles at regional, national, European and World level (Image: Border City ABC)\n<\/p>\n
\n John Stubbs, his coach at Tenacity, believes Carrigan can handle that aspect of the occasion and all else in tonight’s contest, which will be shown live on DAZN. \u201cJohn Joe\u2019s a man, but he\u2019s still developing. This [opponent] is a fully-grown bloke. He\u2019s about 30 and I think this will be his sixth professional fight. He\u2019s experienced in combat sports, does a bit of kickboxing. It might be a bit unorthodox and could pose a bit of a challenge for us. But we\u2019re not worried.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Stubbs is confident Carrigan\u2019s work ethic and skill set have him on a path to the top. \u201cHe trains two or three times a day, one day\u2019s rest a week. He never likes to rest too much. The strength and conditioning work has been a step up and the difference in him physically is massive.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI knew him from coaching on the England Pathway. Archie [Ian Archibald] had been telling me for years about him. The first time I worked with him you could see he was a special talent. He was constantly getting better, and nothing he\u2019s done has surprised me. When he\u2019s been sparring with lads ranked in the top ten, he\u2019s been holding his own, and that\u2019s before he\u2019s made his debut.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI honestly think \u2013 and this isn\u2019t pressure on him, it\u2019s just what we expect \u2013 that he can be world champion, and hopefully a multi-weight world champion. If he keeps doing what he\u2019s doing now, he\u2019s definitely good enough. But he knows that until he does something, talking about it means nothing. Until he\u2019s got a world title on his waist, he\u2019s not happy.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan nods. \u201cThere\u2019s no point saying you\u2019re going to be this or that if you don\u2019t back it up. But I wouldn\u2019t box if I wasn\u2019t confident.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Coach John Stubbs, right, says he “honestly believes” the 18-year-old from Carlisle is a future world boxing champion (Image: Jon Colman)\n<\/p>\n
\n Is there a timeframe in mind for Carrigan\u2019s planned ascent to the top? \u201cHe\u2019d box for a world title today,\u201d Stubbs says. \u201cAnd I wouldn\u2019t let him! Shelly is our guide on that. My job is just to make sure we can beat the people who are put in front of us. We were talking the other day, saying, \u2018world title by 23\u2019. John Joe\u2019s words were, \u2018I want one before that\u2019. We\u2019ll take it one step at a time.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan is appreciative of the fundamental part played by Border City ABC in his aspiring career. He often returns to the Carlisle club, who will be well represented in the Glasgow crowd tonight, to train and help other young boxers \u2013 while the boy from Todhills is further reminded of his growing name locally.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI don\u2019t get recognised that much when I\u2019m here [Hartlepool], but when I do go back to Carlisle, I\u2019ve had people in town asking for pictures. It\u2019s quite strange, isn\u2019t it? An 18-year-old lad and a grown man\u2019s asked me for a picture.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cIt\u2019s good. It\u2019s putting Carlisle on the map, and there are other good boxers in the area too. I hope they do well for Carlisle as well.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The final days and hours before his debut see Carrigan going through the pre-fight formalities in Glasgow, including a press conference and the weigh-in, and trying to balance the nervous anticipation with some necessary downtime. \u201cIt\u2019s always in the back of your head, and you can\u2019t forget about boxing, but you have to try and switch off. Keep talking to the lads, play on your phone, watch TikTok, keep chilled out.\n<\/p>\n
\n Carrigan says he hopes to “put Carlisle on the map” in his aspiring boxing career (Image: Jon Colman)\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cI wouldn\u2019t say I get nervous much, but I probably will be for my first pro fight. But whenever I got nervous as an amateur, I always just thought, \u2018He\u2019s only got two hands, hasn\u2019t it?\u2019 There\u2019s no point overthinking it too much.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n That also applies when it comes to Przybylski. Carrigan admits he knows \u201cnothing\u201d about his opponent, leaving the meat of the research and planning to Stubbs and the Tenacity team, who are also mindful of the pitfalls of professional life.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cThe pros can be a game where everyone wants a piece of you,\u201d Stubbs says. \u201cIt\u2019s like when the carcass comes into the butchers, and they take a bit of the thigh off, a bit of the leg off\u2026everyone wants to make some money off you, and you\u2019re the one going in there and getting your head punched. You need someone that\u2019s looking out for you, someone you can trust.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n There must be carefully managed \u201cbuilding blocks,\u201d adds Stubbs, when it comes to growing Carrigan\u2019s career and not burning his talent out. \u201cWe haven\u2019t spoken too much about what happens after [boxing], but those will be conversations we have down the line. The goal at the minute is to reach the top of the sport, and from there we can see what happens.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
\n The big stage awaits in Glasgow. Asked, from one to ten, how excited he is for his debut, Carrigan grins and says: \u201cAbout 25.\u201d Then he adds: \u201cAll the bright lights, the big walkout, all the people shouting for you\u2026it\u2019s completely different from what I\u2019ve had before. I think I\u2019ll feed off the crowd.\n<\/p>\n
\n \u201cWhen I was at the Josh Taylor fight, the atmosphere was unbelievable. Everyone was screaming. You just picture yourself in the middle of that.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Carrigan, from Carlisle, is on the undercard at the Next King of Scotland show in Glasgow, where his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":179257,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":{"0":"post-179256","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-boxing","8":"tag-boxing","9":"tag-sports","10":"tag-uk","11":"tag-united-kingdom","12":"tag-unitedkingdom"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179256","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=179256"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/179256\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179257"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=179256"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=179256"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=179256"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}