Farrell at Excelsior - ‘I’m doing it my way’

Farrell works on his power with dad and trainer Paddy

NIALL Farrell is doing pro boxing his way, writes Matt Bozeat.

As a former Great Britain amateur, he was wanted by major promoters when he decided to turn professional.

The Birmingham lightweight has taken a different route and as he prepares for his fourth fight in six months in the paid ranks, Farrell says he’s made the right decision.

Next Thursday (September 28), Niall faces Stefan Vincent at Scott Murray’s Excelsior Club, based at the promoter’s Premier Suite, Cannock, base.

It’s the Dorset boxer’s second trip to the West Midlands in three weeks. Earlier this month, he gave unbeaten Ryan Griffiths an argument in Tommy Owens’ Top Boxer tournament at Planet Ice, Solihull – even imposing a count on the Black Country hope, before being outpointed over four rounds.

Vincent, aged 32, fought again last weekend and dropped a six round decision at York Hall, Bethnal Green. He’s won only one of six, but is tough and has never failed to hear the final bell.

A stoppage by Farrell would be a statement of intent.

For Niall, the fight comes only 19 days after his four-round points win over Joshua Ocampo in Solihull.

The 26 year old said: “This is why I took this route. I want to fight regularly, not sit around waiting for a date.

“I used to box five times in five days as an amateur and I didn’t want to go from that to boxing three times a year.

“I thought I would get stale.”

In total, Farrell, trained from the start by his father Paddy, had 126 amateur bouts, winning European Championship silver in 2017, competing in the 2017 and 2021 World Championships and last year’s Commonwealth Games.

Farrell says that, despite that hugely impressive CV, he doesn’t intend to be fast tracked in the pros.

He said: “I’m doing it the right way, the traditional way.

“It seems everyone wants to be fast tracked. Why?

“If you’re good enough, you will get there anyway, and you’ve got more chance of getting there if you learn the game properly.

“I want to be a seasoned pro. I don’t want to get to 15-0 against journeymen, lose and then disappear.

“I’m not looking for a quick fix, I want to be in this game a long time. I know I will get there, so what’s the rush? I can take my time, get the rounds in and push my way up the rankings.

“I have complete belief in myself that I will become a world champion. It’s just a case of when the time is right for me to challenge for these titles.”

Farrell says his first target is the Midlands Area championship.

“People are shocked when I tell them I want the Midlands title,” he said. “But I want to take the traditional route, I want to fight everyone out there.”

Farrell believes Jon Pegg is the right manager to take him up the levels to the top.

“I’ve known Jon since I was a baby and everything he said to me made sense,” he said. “With my name I could have got a big promoter, but we are looking to do it our way, at our own pace and in our own lane.”