Last Saturday night, promising Irish middleweight prospect Jim Donovan (2-0, 1 KO) turned in a memorable performance in his first pro boxing match in his native Ireland, registering a sensational opening-round knockout on the “Rumble In The Hills” card at Aura Complex in Letterkenny, County Donegal.
Fighting in his second pro fight only five weeks after his professional debut in Belfast, the 21-year-old southpaw from Limerick quickly blasted out his Polish opponent, Bartlomiej Wlodarczyk (2-6, 1 KO), dropping him in the opening round with a nifty left and closing the show with a picture-perfect right at the 1:44 mark of round one, when referee Paul McCollough halted the fight.
“A new day, new experience,” Donovan described his pro boxing debut in Ireland. “He’s a tough opponent who came to win, but obviously skills pay the bills. I feel like I’ve been a pro for the last four or five years because I’ve been in a professional boxing gym since I was 14 years old. The debut was a long time coming and hopefully, I’ll be 3-0 by the end of the year with a big 2026 coming.
“Andy (Lee, James’ head trainer and co-manager) is the mastermind behind it all and a big thank you to my manager, Keith Sullivan, too. My two training camps as a professional boxer have been with Paddy for his big one and Joseph Parker for his fight this weekend.”
On September 13th in Belfast, 21-year-old Donovan scored a unanimous decision over veteran Lukasz Barabasez on the Crocker vs. Donovan 2 card in Belfast, in which his cousin Paddy Donovan lost a disputed, heartbreaking decision to Lewis Crocker for the vacant International Boxing Federation (IBF) Welterweight World title.
“Paddy will bounce back in a flash,” Jim predicted. “Paddy will be world champion in 2026, he should have been world champion on March 5th, but controversy is controversy. The second fight was what it was; Paddy should have been up on the scorecards and he’s going to bounce right back.”
Donovan was an outstanding Irish amateur boxer with a remarkable 160-7 record, including 10 Irish National Championships, as well as earning prestigious medals from the 2018 European Boxing Championship Schoolboys and 2022 IBA World Youth Championships.
“A great performance,” manager Sullivan commented. “An excellent showing in Windsor Park and tonight he got his first knockout. Jim Donovan is a diamond in the rough. He’s going to be the next Irish superstar and carry the Donovan name in front of the big Irish boxing crowd. But there’s only one Jim Donovan!”
Reports are that Jim’s next fight could be right at home in Limerick before the end of 2025.
“Limerick has missed out on professional boxing for years, Donovan noted. “There are some great fighters there like Paddy, Eddie (Donovan, Jim’s brother and Paddy’s brother), me, and Kian Henderman. There hasn’t been a professional fight night in Limerick for years and something should be done. Boxing fans in Munster and Limerick are hectic. Any venue in Limerick will fill out.”
“We have some irons in the fire if it doesn’t happen in Limerick so we can get him to 3-0 before the end of this year,” Sullivan concluded.
