I was very badly bullied at school, boxing saved me
Discipline and values got world champion Phelan through tough times
KATELYNN PHELAN is still getting used to being called a world champion. A few weeks ago, she gave a talk in a youth club in Drimnagh when Ireland’s youngest professional boxer heard herself introduced as just that. ‘It nearly didn’t feel real,’ she says with a soft laugh. ‘Sometimes when I walk past the belts, I have to catch myself and remember what I did. So, yeah, I suppose it has taken a while to sink in.’
In this strangest of sporting years, what Phelan did in the Munich suburb of Donauwoerth back in October should stand out as a glittering achievement. The 20year-old went into Jessica Schadko’s backyard – they were fighting in the gym where the German trained – and came home with the WBC youth welterweight title, as well as the WBF and WIBA belts.
Schadko, who was being groomed as the next big thing in German boxing, wasn’t prepared for Phelan’s power, relentless energy and ring smarts. Shell-shocked, the German didn’t answer the bell for the sixth round, remaining on her stool. In only her fourth professional bout, Phelan made the boxing world sit up and take notice.
‘All of those around Schadko couldn’t believe it. They were in shock,’ recalls Leonard Gunning, Phelan’s manager. ‘There was an awful lot of money behind her, they weren’t expecting that but Katelynn simply had too much for her.’
What made it even more impressive is that Phelan’s team believe she should be fighting in the lightweight division, rather than welterweight.
‘Welterweight is probably two divisions too high, but that didn’t make a difference. Ultimately, we would like to move to lightweight [where Katie Taylor is undisputed champion]. That’s the division with all the stars,’ Gunning explains.
Doors have already opened for Phelan following her achievements in Munich. Two of boxing’s biggest promoters, one on either side of the Atlantic, have been in touch.
The Kildare woman’s youthfulness makes her an appealing proposition. The growth of women’s pro boxing has been constructed around fighters who are now in their 30s. Given that Phelan doesn’t turn 21 until May, she can represent the sport’s future.
And Phelan’s story is one that people can get behind. Having first donned a pair of gloves in St Brigid’s Boxing Club, run by her father Paddy, at seven years of age, she endured a tough time in secondary school over her sporting passion.
‘I was bullied quite badly in secondary school, by girls who were my friends in primary school. It got quite nasty,’ Phelan explains. ‘But rather than react to them, I relied on my discipline.
‘I had to control my emotions and boxing helped me do that. It saved me, really. And I just poured everything into it.’
When she talks to young girls, she draws on her difficult experiences as a bullied teenager. When she arrived at St John Bosco Youth Centre in Drimnagh last month, where she was announced as a world champion, she reflected on where she had come from.
‘The message I wanted to give is that everyone has struggles. And no matter what you are going through, you should never lose sight of who you are.
‘Everyone goes through struggles in life and it doesn’t have to define you. It is good to be able to tell them of the struggles I went through when I was in school, because it didn’t define me,’ she says.
‘After I spoke, some girls came up to me and a few mothers contacted me to say their daughters were going through a difficult time. So, it is nice that my story can offer some solace to those girls, because it can be difficult to be a teenager.’
In her own teens, Phelan started collecting national titles as her talent inside the ring became obvious. In 2015, she ended up winning a bronze medal at the European Youth Championships and followed it up with a bronze in the 2017 World Youth Championships.
Such was her talent that she was set to become a key part of the IABA High Performance Unit. But she didn’t have ambitions to win an Olympic medal.
The amateur game didn’t suit her style, so when she turned 18, she signed professional papers. She didn’t tell her parents who had already seen her older brother, Allan, try his luck in the pro game. A couple of years down the road, her desire to follow her dreams seem justified.
There have still been bumps in the road, even in the past month. Still on a high, after returning from Germany, Phelan arrived at the St Brigid’s gym to find the locks changed. Founded by her father Paddy over a decade ago, the club were using the site of the disused factory in the town. However, last month, they hit a hitch when the landlord locked them out.
With Kildare County Council getting involved, an agreement was finally reached to allow the club back into the premises.
‘Yeah, from the high of what happened in Germany, that brought me back down to earth,’ Phelan says. ‘Because I am a professional athlete, I could still train.
‘I had an exemption, so I trained in Naas and was also training in The Curragh, but obviously November isn’t the best time to be running around the Curragh, with it being so wet and cold.’
Phelan was supposed to be back in the ring this weekend in Murcia, Spain. However, the show has been postponed until January 23 under instruction from the local public health officials. The Celtic Clash XI card will feature the best in young Irish, English and Spanish talent but Ireland’s newest world champion will headline the card.
Gunning has lined up a durable opponent from eastern Europe to face Phelan. It won’t be a title defence, just a bout to keep active and remain in the public eye.
‘Yeah, this fight is just about staying sharp, staying tuned in,’ Phelan says. ‘Hopefully, it will lead to someone spotting me and getting signed up for bigger and better fighters. That is my hope for 2021, just to keep moving up the ladder and keep improving. I just want to be the best I can be.’
There’s also the prospect of a rematch with Schadko, although they haven’t heard yet from her representatives. However, Gunning feels that Phelan should concentrate on moving down the divisions – the plan is next month’s bout will be at light-welterweight.
With Katie Taylor spearheading an explosion in women’s professional boxing, things are looking up for the sport. And in Katelynn Phelan, Irish boxing have someone who can be a big part of its future.