Gleeson is stepping out of the comfort zone in Boxing debut

Nenagh native Alex Gleeson makes his amateur boxing debut in Wexford next month, initially for charity but has since become a personal challenge. THOMAS CONWAY met with him.

When Alex Gleeson ducks under the ropes and steps into the ring in Enniscorthy on Saturday, October 11th, he will be crossing a Rubicon into the unforgiving world of amateur boxing - where nothing matters but you, your opponent, and the ability to fight.

Ducking, diving, weaving, and punching are all things that he has practiced before, but never in a formal setting.

This will be his first official fight, and although he will be seeking to vanquish his opponent – Wexford native Kingsley Carter - he will also be scaling new heights.

“I have trained for about two or three years, but never really had the confidence to fight anyone,” he explained.

“But then I was offered a charity fight, on a big enough card down in Wexford, and I said to myself: well, it is just one fight, it might lead to another one, it is something to work towards. So, I felt it was the perfect opportunity to step into the ring.”

It is a brave decision by the 23-year-old, who was born and raised in Nenagh and works with Tippo International in Kilkeary. Part of Alex is doing this for himself. As he said, an opportunity arose, and he wanted to seize it.

But this is also a personal crusade for a small but worthy charity organisation, the Bukky Foundation, which dedicates itself to supporting families that suffer the sudden loss of a loved one and consequently find themselves in a financial or psychological struggle. Alex doesn’t have a connection to the charity. He is just a naturally empathetic guy who understands the difficulties which so many face.

“People lose people every day of the week. They struggle financially every day of the week. So, it is good to have awareness that there is help there, particularly if you’ve lost someone,” he said.

Elevating Irish boxing

The event itself is a part of a series of fight-nights being staged by the boxing foundation Eire Season, which describes itself as a movement dedicated to “elevating Irish boxing.”

Alex and his opponent will form part of the undercard to the headline bout - a clash between Enniscorthy hometown hero Mick Abidoye Jnr and his UK rival, whose stage name is Shadow.

Alex might be making his competitive debut, but he is “not coming to take part, he’s coming to make a statement.”

With a fearless mix of styles, switching stances, and relentless drive, Alex brings raw grit, heart, and determination to every round. He is there to prove himself, inspire others to chase the fight game, and show the potential of a future star — inside and outside the ring. This isn’t just a debut. It is the beginning of something special.

It might be a long way from the streaking lights and billboard screens of Madison Square Garden, but spectators are guaranteed four high-stakes championship fights and a raucous atmosphere. All this in the confines of the Irish Farmers Association Centre in Enniscorthy, a venue which has probably hosted a boxing match or two down the years.

Physically his preparation has been rigorous. He has been helped that his training partner in Nenagh Warriors Boxing and MMA club, Waldek Cichy, is a former professional fighter. His sparring partner, Emmet O’Brien, can also throw a punch or two.

Alex is being put through his paces, but for the past several weeks he has been walking that delicate tightrope between training intensively and fuelling correctly. If you see a lad jogging through the streets of Nenagh and running up the steps of the courthouse a la Rocky Balboa, then you will know it is Alex who reveals his training schedule.

“Four days a week I do two-and-a-half to five kilometres of a run. Then I would do shadow-boxing or mimic sparring - that could be just done at home in my back garden, but I try to last for as long as I can.

“Then I would have one to two sessions a week of pad work, and one to two sessions a week of sparring. But we are trying not to go too heavy because I don’t want to burn too many calories. I am trying to pack on weight at the moment.”

Packing on weight. Not easy, he says, particularly when you have to train as ferociously as a boxer. But he is disciplined, and he has his own self-styled nutrition plan which, astonishingly, doesn’t include breakfast.

“I don’t really eat in the mornings because I don’t really have an appetite for it,” he explained.

“When I am in work, I would usually have chicken and rice for lunch, stuff like that. And then when I get home, I would have maybe half a meal - something not quite as a big as a dinner but still substantial. And then later on at night I would have a really big dinner. I am trying to aim for a calorie intake of 3,000 to 4,000.”

All that eating has nudged him upwards from 68kg to 73kg - the catchweight for the fight. Alex was, and probably naturally is, a welterweight fighter (generally 64-67kg). His opponent, Kingsley Carter, is slimming down from super middleweight (72-76kg). The “catchweight” is a middle-of-the-road option, a weight limit which both fighters agree upon by consensus. Eire Foundation subsequently designated the 73kg weight class as their own official category. So, a belt will be on the line.

Meanwhile Alex is bulking up, and Kingsley is cutting down. Both processes are not without difficulty.

A Good Show

Come October 11th, once the weigh-in is done and dusted, and the dressing-room door is opened, it will become all about the fight. He is candid, and admits to being slightly nervous, not in his own ability but rather for the sake of the busload of friends and supporters that are travelling down from Nenagh, and the members of his family that are making the journey from Galway. He wants to put on a good show for them.

His opponent, Carter, is a 23 year-old Enniscorthy native and therefore has the hometown advantage. He is likely to be agile and explosive, with quick feet and good reactions, Alex predicts.

But the Tipp man is prepared for that. His plan is to, pardon the pun, box cleverly. He knows all too well that the best laid plans often awry in the ring - fatigue intervenes, heavy blows take their toll. But he is up for it. He is in the shape of his life and feels mentally sharp. And crucially, he is enjoying the process. The constant training can be tough, but there's “a good buzz about it,” he says, referencing the discipline and sense of purpose.

You never know, he muses, if this fight goes well, he might be noticed and get invited onto another card. And some time down the line he himself might be the hometown hero and headline a fight-night in Nenagh. Wouldn’t that be something? But this time, he will be the outsider, the new guy up against a man for whom most of the crowd will be cheering. He isn’t daunted. Nor is he scared. On the contrary, he is relishing the challenge.