ONE of Belfast’s most exciting pro prospects plans to go “the whole way to the top” after clocking up a second win last Friday night.
Jack O’Neill was a classy amateur, claiming three Ulster titles and with Commonwealth Games and Olympic ambitions before deciding to turn over to the paid ranks earlier this year.
And it is a case of so far, so good. O’Neill caught the eye with a debut win over Jake Pollard in August, and was back at the SSE Arena on the undercard of Padraig McCrory’s victory over Leonard Carrillo.
The talented 23-year-old took another important step on the journey with a points decision win in his four-rounder against the experienced Steven Maguire.
And while O’Neill knows he is still only finding his feet in the pro game, under the watchful eye of Ray Ginley, he insists there is plenty more to come.
“I’m still on a bit of a buzz after Friday.
“They [Ray and Mark Ginley] really looked after me, and Ray’s been there and done it. He knows what it feels like getting into the ring, he’s very knowledgeable about the game, he’s changed my style completely.
“I was always more of a boxer, long and rangy, but now I’m planting my feet a lot more, slowing it down, trying to set up shots and hitting a lot harder because of the way I’m throwing punches.
“A lot of it is very different, and takes a bit of getting used to. You’re selling tickets so there’s a lot more people coming to watch, you’re getting your fight kit made, you get noticed more as well - or more people know that you box.
“But I’ve a lot of options open to me. My last fight was super-bantam, I make that weight quite easy, I’m tall, and at the smaller weights you can progress a lot quicker – I think once I hit nine or 10 fights I’ll be pushing on.
“The ambition, long-term, is to go to the whole way to the top.”
And O’Neill has no regrets about leaving the amateur game behind, despite growing up with dad Alex, a serious operator in his own punching pomp who is now a respected R&J, and coach at Corpus Christi.
Jack comes down and lends a hand when he can too, the new breed sharing a lot of the same dreams he had at their age.
Ultimately, though, university commitments in Liverpool, followed by a frustrating injury – a strained VMO muscle in the quad – kept O’Neill out of the ring when he could have been making hay.
His last fight as an amateur was in 2021 against Dylan Eagleson, the Bangor sensation who would go on to win gold at the following year’s Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
It wasn’t an easy call to make, but he is sure it was the right one.
“It wasn’t something I was interested in really; I always wanted to go to the Commonwealths, Olympics and then look at going pro.
“I work in Tribe gym as a personal trainer/boxing coach and, when I started back training, I posted a video of me on the pads… Ray and Mark both got in touch.
“Then a few days later Ray phoned me, I was talking to him and he convinced me. It’s probably the best decision I’ve made. Sometimes towards the end of my amateur career, it was a wee bit of a melt going to training, you were having to drag yourself, where now it nearly feels like a new sport.
“I’m trying to develop as a fighter and learn new stuff instead of just training away – it brought back a bit of the love for it again.”
