One great night makes it all worthwhile, says Ray Moylette

One great night makes it all worthwhile


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Daniel Carey

“YOU’VE at least six years left in you,” England team manager George Gilbody told Ray Moylette after last Thursday’s boxing international at the Castlecourt Hotel, Westport. “All I want is four,” the Islandeady man replied.
If Moylette goes on to represent Ireland at the 2016 Olympic Games, the pundits may look back on last week’s 17-9 victory over Ryan Mulcahy as the start of the road to Rio de Janeiro. But he’s “not looking that far ahead yet,” he told The Mayo News – his immediate focus is the national senior championships in the New Year. Besides, he’d probably tell you that the journey started much earlier.
“Boxing is a lonely sport,” he said, reflecting on a year in which he spent most of his time recovering from injury. “You’re in the gym, training, your hand is sore, you’re trying to make weight, you’re on your own trying to get things sorted … a lot of things go through your head – doubts, regret, ‘why am I here?’
“You’re hungry, you’re thirsty, you don’t know what you’re doing … Not knowing was the worst part. Not knowing when I’d be back, what’s going to happen, will my hand be right? … you have to get through all that …  it’s not all fairy-tales and rainbows in the boxing world. There’s a lot of hardship as well. But one great night will make up for years of hard training.”
And last Thursday was certainly a great night for Moylette. The 22-year-old looked comfortable throughout his bout, which he led 6-2 after round one and 13-5 after round two. Just as importantly, he had no more than “a little pain” in his hand – “nothing too major”.
“I controlled the pace of the fight,” said the St Anne’s BC member. “Senior boxing is all about experience. You have to be clever in there. You have to be able to change your tactics, if something isn’t working ... Everything you’ve been trained to do, you have to be willing to bring it into the ring.
“I was just delighted to be back in the ring. That’s why I’m boxing. I need to be in the ring – that’s where I get my thrills ... Fighting in the Castlecourt, it’s your home show, and that’s where you want to be every year. And to make your comeback there with all those people there, it made it very personal.”