Longford's Luke Byrne aiming to get his pro boxing dreams back on ...

Longford boxer Luke Byrne is returning to the ring next month, as he bids to win a heavyweight title.27 year old Luke’s ambition is to get into the professional ranks. A win in this title fight in Belfast would greatly boost his chances of that.

Luke’s bout will be against Belfast fighter Fra Lavery in the Clayton Hotel, Belfast on August 17. At stake will be the Cornerstone Boxing Heavyweight title.“My last fight was in March 2023 in London. I fought Dragos Adrian. I lost out on a decision. I am lucky enough to get this opportunity,” he explained.

3,500 people attended that fight, which was staged by Quest Boxing in a venue in Brentwood.“The promoters needed an opponent for the champion and I was asked. I am taking this opportunity with both hands,” Luke added.It’s a packed card of boxing in Belfast on the night. There will be 18 bouts, with Luke’s fight the main attraction.“My opponent is 34, so he is seven years older than me. However, heavyweight boxers can have longer careers, because there is not the same stresses on the body at that weight,” he stated.

“If I win this bout, I will move down a weight to cruiserweight. I would be aiming to become a professional at light heavyweight. There are a few professional boxers operating at this level in Ireland. One of them is Joe Ward from Moate (who has won three European and 15 Irish titles). I sparred with him. He is a very talented boxer,” he stated.

Luke is balancing his pursuit of boxing success with a full-time job, as manager of Elvery’s in Longford town.“I train five times a week. I train in a gym in my home and I travel to boxing clubs to do sparring,” he explained.In his amateur career, he has had three fights to date, winning two and losing one.

Luke has had to overcome some challenges recently as he bids to get his professional dream back on track.“I caught Covid and then suffered Long Covid. I also sustained an injury to my hip flexor. In addition, a close friend of mine, Bryonny Sainsbury, passed away,” Luke explained.

“I became very unfit. It is harder to get fit than to stay fit. However, I have been training hard for the past seven weeks. I have another three weeks of hard training and I will then taper it off a bit in the run up to the fight,” he added.A challenge that Luke has lived with for years is that of being diabetic. In fact, he is one of only three diabetic fighters in the world.

“There is one in Bolton and another in Philadelphia. I have to take insulin. When I am training strenuously, I have to watch my blood sugar levels. I was diagnosed as a teenager. It took almost a year to get my boxing licence from the IABA (Irish Amateur Boxing Association),” Luke commented.

Luke has incorporated the reality of being diabetic into his fight name, which is “sugar free.”Boxing is in Luke’s blood. His father, Simon, was a talented fighter, who won amateur titles.Luke grew up in Longford Town. He attended Moyne Community School and went on to complete a level 8 honours degree in Sports Science & Exercise Physiology in Athlone Institute of Technology.

Luke is keen to go the professional route as he is wary of what he terms “the corruption in amateur boxing.”“I was on the wrong end of some decisions myself. The decision against Michael Conlon at the 2016 Olympics (when it was widely believed the Belfast boxer wrongly lost a bout) showed the corruption in amateur boxing,” he stated.The fight can be viewed on Luke’s instagram, with his handle being @Sugarfreeboxer