Garda and boxer Niall Kennedy is preparing for his latest challenge in what has been one hell of a journey.
The proud Gorey native faces undefeated Croatian boxer Alen Babic in a heavyweight bout in London next month and still believes he can compete with the best fighters out there.
Kennedy has always had a good team around him, from his family to his brilliant colleagues at Wicklow Garda Station.
At 36 years of age, he knows he has more fights behind him than ahead of him, but he is still chasing his dream of making it into the top 20 heavyweight boxers in the world as he aims to inspire youngsters in Gorey and all around the country.
Babic has won all four of his professional fights within the opening two rounds, but Kennedy, whose only defeat from his 14 bouts came against Devin Vargas in his last fight, is confident he can get the victory.
Speaking ahead of the October 4 bout, he told The Irish Mirror: "The training is going well.
"The pandemic has affected the whole world. It has affected everyone. Paschal [Collins] has been on to us about being fit and being ready to go, because we knew that if an opportunity came the chances are you're only going to get a three/four week camp at it so we were actually training for it when we got word about this fight.
"We had a big fight in Vegas for October 3 and even though I have a sports visa, we weren't allowed access to the States. So this came then, we were offered it and it's far too big of an opportunity to turn down and it's a very winnable fight.
"He's [Babic] creating a lot of noise, but I think that's what he is. He's a lot of noise.
"I've watched his amateur fights as well. He's not a mug, he is a good fighter. There's no doubt that. I'm not being brought over to win. I'm aware of that as well, but the minute the fight was offered to us we jumped at it. We wanted it straight away. It was something we felt we were very capable of winning.
"I believe I've beaten better opponents than him. I'm going to call him Alen because he wants to be called 'The Savage', but I'm just going to call him Alen.
"It is going to be extremely exciting. Alen is going to be very frustrated and I'm going to win it very emphatically and move on up the ladder."
The majority of Kennedy's fights have come in America, but he believes a win over Babic could "open some doors" closer to home.
He added: "It is what it is. I'm 36 years of age and I'll be 14 months out of the ring when this fight happens so I couldn't afford not to take this opportunity.
"Sometimes life does that and things just pan out for you and I believe this could be a way for fast-tracking myself and maybe fighting more locally as well. Maybe not in Ireland, but closer to home if this works out well, which I believe it will. I think it will open some doors over this side of the world.
"I set a goal at the start to get to the top 20 in the world and this is a way of fast-tracking it that if I go straight into the top 20 if I beat this fella.
"I'm not saying I'd beat Tyson Fury. I'm not saying I'd beat Anthony Joshua, but I know I can be competitive with them and I only want to test myself. I want to be in fights where I'm being pushed.
"I just want to be in competitive fights and when it gets to a stage where I'm not in that league, I'll bow out. I'm not boxing for money, I'm not boxing for anyone, I'm boxing because I'm following a dream that I've had all my life.
"I'm just absolutely delighted to get the opportunity to fight on this card and get the opportunity to hopefully inspire loads of young lads in Gorey, in Wexford and in Ireland in general just to keep chasing a dream and keep pushing and pushing and hoping for the best."
Kennedy sparred with Joshua back in 2017. Recalling it, he said: "He's a lovely man. You'd love him not to be hitting you. It was brilliant. It was nice to see I wasn't as far down the mountain as I believed. The sparring was good and it was very competitive so I enjoyed it.
"I was over with Joe Joyce last year in England and he's the same. One of them is a millionaire, probably a billionaire nearly and the other lad is on his way to that sort of wealth and here I am coming from Wicklow Garda Station.
"It's great that I'm competitive more than anything.
"Once I stop being competitive I'll stop fighting. I'll be very happy to have chased the dream and that's all I'll tell any youngster - if you have a belief or a dream chase it."
Kennedy is unsure of exactly where his fight with Babic will take place, with Eddie Hearn waiting to see if any fans will be allowed to attend the Matchroom event, and the boxer will be forced to self-isolate for ten days on his return to Ireland.
He explained: "Only myself and Paschal can go. We fly out on Wednesday, September 30 and we go over into the bubble then.
"I actually don't know where the fight is on."
Hearn's back garden hosted a number of boxing events over the summer and Kennedy laughed: "It's not a bad back garden. Sure wherever it is, it is. It's a boxing ring at the end of the day. Wherever it is, it makes no odds. It's going to be the same man across the ring from me.
"I'm looking forward to it. I can't wait. The plan would be just to go over, we'll have a Covid test before we go and a Covid test when we get there and another one 48 hours before the fight.
"The work will be done by the time we fly out."
On fighting with no fans, Kennedy gave the classic Irish reply of: "It will be grand."
He added: "I've been blessed in America. Just being Irish alone in America brings a massive following so we've had big numbers.
"I'm lucky I have family in America that brought massive numbers to fights.
"I've been training in Gorey Boxing Club for this fight with my oldest coach Hagler Murray. It's just sort of been the two of us so training on my own and fighting on your own. It's an individual sport so it's something you're used to. I don't think it will affect me. "
Kennedy counts himself lucky to work with such great colleagues at Wicklow Garda Station and he will take annual leave from his job for the bout. His wife Niamh is also a Garda.
He explained: "I've to take annual leave before the fight and after the fight. I think we're down to ten days [for quarantine after coming back to Ireland] so I've to take annual leave to cover all that.
"To be honest with you I probably would have taken the leave anyway. Between working full-time, Niamh is working full-time, training full-time and the baby full-time, it's hard work.
"It's a little bit of a juggling act, but Niamh probably deserves more credit than I do and in fairness to my colleagues at Wicklow Garda Station, they have been brilliant to me so I'm lucky."
A number of athletes expressed their frustration and boredom during lockdown, but not Kennedy, whose life got busier if anything.
He explained: "My wife is a Garda as well and the mad thing about it is our lives got busier probably in one sense during the pandemic.
"I was training the whole way through it, because it was good for ourselves and mental health.
"My wife is a fitness fanatic as well so it's handy to keep plugging away and then when the opportunity and the call came, it was brilliant. I knew I wasn't that far off the mark.
"I won't lie to you. I'm going around like a zombie at the minute. We've picked up the intensity massively, but it is what it is.
"Covid affected the world horrendously and it is still taking lives every day.
"It's something that we're probably going to have to learn to live with and this sort of an opportunity, although it came in this strange time it was too good of an opportunity to pass up so I jumped at it."
Kennedy is an advocate for mental health and advises anybody who is suffering to seek help.
He added: "Mental health is a big thing. It's fairly well publicised that I suffer with it a little bit myself.
"It's something I'm very passionate about trying to help young men in general to look for help."
