Emmet Brennan: “I don’t want the next five years to pass by having not given New York a chance because I’d regret it, and my whole ethos now is no regrets.”

Emmet Brennan: “I don’t want the next five years to pass by having not given New York a chance because I’d regret it, and my whole ethos now is no regrets.”

By Matt Elliott

As I caught up with Emmet Brennan over Zoom this past week, we should have been dissecting his second professional contest, which was scheduled to take place at a Conlan Boxing Promotions event on September 16 in Dublin. The show, however, was frustratingly cancelled, without explanation, at just eight days’ notice, providing a minor setback for the former Olympian who, at the age of thirty-two, is eager to get his career up and running.

In all, it has been a frustrating couple of years for Brennan, who achieved a lifelong ambition when he competed at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021. Boxing has been a part of his life since the age of ten, but during that period he had not always been fully committed to the sport, and he temporarily walked away in his early twenties, before returning in 2016, determined to make his mark and join the select few who get to represent their country at an Olympic event.

“I’ve been boxing since the age of ten. It all started when I went to a boxing club run by my father’s friend. As soon as I walked in, the smell of the gym, the moisture on the walls, the heat; I was hooked straight away. I was never technically the best, but I was always a hard worker. I was a late developer, and I didn’t win my first national title until I was twenty, and then I won my second the following year. At that age, you are trying to live the dream of being a boxer, but like most people in their early twenties, I was drinking, gambling, and generally just being stupid. Then you get a job to earn money, and boxing kind of goes on the back foot. I never lost the love, though, and I was never one hundred per cent out of it, but I was never all-in either. For the next two or three years, I would go missing for months and then come back. I suppose at the age of twenty-five, I was just unhappy with the trajectory of my life, and I was in a bad place mentally. Boxing was the only thing I knew I was happy doing, and that gave me structure. I had always had the dream of being an Olympian and an Irish elite champion, so I risked everything; I quit my job and threw myself back in.”  

Brennan knew that to make the Olympics, it required a significant mind shift. He needed to believe he could be successful and knew he had to dedicate every second of his life to achieving that dream.  

“You have to remember that at twenty-five I’d never won a fight at elite level. So, to even have that mindset to become an Olympian, was firstly very unrealistic, and secondly, took a lot of courage on my part to walk back into the gym after a period of absence. I didn’t want to live with regret, though. I wanted to know that when I walked away from boxing, I had put everything into it. There were a lot of knockbacks along the way, but ultimately, I succeeded.”

That change in mindset and his dedication to the gym resulted in him achieving that dream. Brennan qualified after coming out victorious in a tough encounter with Sweden’s Liridon Nuha, taking a narrow victory and securing his place in Tokyo. The achievement had not come without cost, however, as Brennan carried a shoulder injury into the games, and that ultimately impaired him, as he exited in the round of 32 to the much-fancied Dilshod Ruzmetov. In a post-fight interview with RTE, that would eventually go viral, months of hard work, coupled with the frustration at being injured, led to an outpouring of emotion from Brennan, who could not hold back the tears as he apologised for what he believed was an underachievement.

Ironically, some months later, it would be that interview that would ultimately lead Brennan to a pivotal moment in his career. With his shoulder now finally repaired, following an unsuccessful surgery and then a prolonged period of physio, Brennan headed to New York in early 2022 to kickstart his professional career. In hindsight, whilst the visit did reap some benefits through contacts made, Brennan spent too much time partying and drinking to excess, meaning he was unable to secure the opportunity he was looking for. He returned home, vowed to give up the alcohol, and set off on a mission to find a manager who he felt could support his ambitions. After a period of searching, it was a chance to exchange with Bahrain boxing coach Tony Davis, which would lead Brennan to the door of former IBF world champion Darren Barker.

“I am a good friend of Tony. He is a former GB coach, and I know him from the circuit and the European championships in 2017. He’s ended up going to Bahrain and is the national coach for them. We’ve kept in touch over social media, and he messaged me asking if he could show the Bahrain team my interview from the Olympics, as he felt they didn’t understand the sacrifices that the boxers have to make, and my video might help put that into context. It was perfect timing, as he then asked me about turning professional, and said he hadn’t seen any updates. About an hour earlier, I’d just walked away from signing with a manager as my gut was telling me it wasn’t right. I told Tony I was struggling to find the right person to manage me, and he said he was good friends with Darren, and would I like him to put us in touch. My eyes lit up immediately. I went over to meet Darren in London a week later, and despite me being thirty-one at the time, he said he liked me and felt we could work together, so I signed with him. He works alongside Joe Calzaghe as well, so it’s great to have them both behind me, two former world champions.”

Linking up with Barker feels like a shrewd move from Brennan, who acknowledges that at thirty-two, he is just getting into the sport at an age where many are on their way out. This means he cannot afford to hang around and needs to leverage every opportunity he can. He is well aware, though, that having Barker by his side is not enough in isolation to get him the opportunities he craves.

“Darren is probably one of the most respected men in boxing. He has good connections with Matchroom, being a world champion with Eddie, and obviously, he works for DAZN. On top of that, he knows the sport inside out, so he can open doors, but he can only do that once I’ve done the work in the background, and I get the results that show people what I am capable of. That’s why I was a bit devastated about the cancellation of last week’s event, as in my mind I had a knockout that was going to go viral and get seen and give him the options to open more doors. But look, I am still in a very privileged position, so I am just hoping he can make the moves behind the scenes to get me on the big shows.”

Circling back to the cancellation of the Conlan boxing event, Brennan took to social media in the aftermath, to express his frustration, and to call for a change to prevent such instances from occurring in future. He explains that if Ireland is to progress as a venue for boxing, then attitudes have to shift.

“The annoying thing for me, is I had people coming from London and Sweden and they will struggle to get their hotel and flight money back, and there’s still no explanation as to why it was cancelled. Cancellations are a problem worldwide, and the thing is the boxers are second-class citizens in the sport, and we are the ones who take the big knocks when something like this happens. Professional boxing in Ireland has only really started to build over the last ten years or so and stuff like this, when you are trying to build the reputation of the sport, build a fanbase and get sponsors onside, is detrimental. That is why I was vocal because another show was set for the week after, and that was pulled last minute as well. So, two shows in a week, and there have only been about ten shows all year. If you want the likes of Matchroom, Boxxer, and Queensberry to come to Ireland, you need to look less at volume and more at quality. If the local promoters focus on pitching Irish fighters against each other, that can generate more interest and sell more tickets, and you might get the big boys taking notice and realising there is a market here. Until that happens, it’s very hard to grow the sport”.   

One major show that is set to take place in Ireland, specifically in Brennan’s hometown of Dublin, is the Matchroom-promoted rematch between Chantelle Cameron and Katie Taylor, scheduled for the 3Arena in November. Since speaking with Brennan, it has now been announced that he will make his second professional appearance on that card, something he admitted to me at the time, was a key focus of his.

“I only live one kilometre from the 3Arena, so that is something we are focussed on, and we are trying to get on that show. Darren’s number one objective is to get me on that show. The last time they fought there, there was no one from the heart of the community on the card. I am, and as a former Olympian, I feel I probably have the biggest profile to inspire the next generation from the local community. So that’s what we are going to Matchroom about. It’s not just about being local, though. You have to be able to fight as well. I can do that, so I believe I am good enough to be on that card.”

Whilst details of his opponent are yet to be announced, Brennan admitted that his short-term ambition is to fight for the Celtic title before turning his attention to the Irish belt. He acknowledges there is a process to follow but feels he is well-placed to compete for those belts.

“I am ready for a Celtic title; I wanted to try and get that on my debut. As I said, I’m thirty-two, I’ve been to the Olympics and have boxed at international level against the best amateurs in the world. You don’t want to disrespect the Celtic or Irish title, but my ceiling is way above that level, but you have to do the groundwork and you’ve got to get your six-rounder before you can go for the Celtic title, which we did on my debut. If I could get on the undercard, I’d like to think they could make an allowance for me having not had that much professional experience, but you take what you are given on a show like that.”

Looking beyond 2023, with Brennan acknowledging he needs to move fast, I questioned where his future lies. Will it continue to be in Ireland, where he is currently settled and in the process of opening a gym, or will he once again be drawn to New York, in an attempt to grow his profile overseas?

“I will probably base myself partially in New York and partially in Dublin. I can see my career taking off in New York, I think over there I could sell six hundred to a thousand tickets for a fight even at this stage as there is a real appetite for an Irish fighter to go over and make a name for themselves. I’ve made connections over there, especially with all the pubs (laughs) and in the Gaelic community. There are thousands of Irish people living there, and they are dying to cling onto someone, so the numbers I can do ticket-wise could be ridiculous. For now, though, I just need to concentrate on getting the wins, but I don’t want the next five years to pass by having not given New York a chance because I’d regret it, and my whole ethos now is no regrets, so it’s something I have to explore.” 

The last Irish fighter to base themselves in New York and make a significant impact was John Duddy. Whilst Duddy has since turned his hand to acting, he is someone Brennan would like to reconnect with when he finally makes the move across the Atlantic.   

“At the moment I’m still with my amateur trainer, and he is excellent. He is very, very good, but he has his wife, kids, mortgage, and a job in Dublin, so he couldn’t uproot and move to New York. Potentially I’d be looking at John Duddy. He was sort of up for it when I was over there sixteen months ago, so whether he’d still be up for it remains to be seen, but I’d like to explore it. He was the last man selling major tickets, so that makes for a great story as well. If it doesn’t happen, though, I’ll go over and scout a few coaches. New York has no shortage of them.”

I ended my chat with Brennan, by asking him about the gym he is currently opening in Dublin, alongside two of his friends, and the positive impact he hopes that can make on the community, both now and in the years ahead.

“We have been running classes for the last year and it’s become very popular, but as we didn’t have our own premises, it’s been more for over 18’s, sort of a white-collar boxing thing. With the new gym, which will open in a couple of weeks, we are going to be offering free boxing classes to kids in the area. We are trying to make a positive difference in the community. We will engage with local businesses for sponsorship and seek out any available grants. It’s going to be non-contact boxing, teaching them the fundamentals first, how to move and defend and counterattack, and perhaps after three or four months we can put some kids with one of the local amateur clubs where they can work on their technique and ability. The main thing is to get a few kids off the street and give them a purpose. In amateur clubs at the moment the ratio of coaches to kids is often unmanageable, so it’s a case of throwing the gloves and head guard on them and chucking them straight in to see if they sink or swim, and many walk away as a result. We hope to teach them discipline, how to take orders from adults, and how to become a good team player. Those three things translate directly into the workplace and being a good employee, so at the very least, we hope to teach them some good life skills.”