Callen McAuley found it difficult to put into words just how much it meant to be back inside the ring after so long.
That’s understandable given the Paisley boxer was back in action for the first time in nearly three years.
The undefeated welterweight pro stretched his impressive record to 8-0 with an emphatic six round points win over Angel Emoliv in Aberdeen’s Beach Ballroom, his first fight outside of Glasgow or his hometown.
A combination of a broken hand and the coronavirus pandemic has seen the talented 23-year-old forced to bide his time to prove his worth to the sport once again.
And while he didn’t put on the emphatic show he had hoped for on his Fightzone debut, he was still delighted to extended his unbeaten record and nurse his hand comfortably through it’s first fight.
McAuley told Express Sport: “It’s hard to describe that first moment of getting back in the ring.
“It was brilliant. It wasn’t the best ever performance, but I expected that after such a long lay-off.
“The hand was on my mind a little bit throughout.
“I was worried about how it would react to an actual fight and I was a bit hesitant in letting it go fully.
“I won every round though and kept in control the whole time. I wasn’t too rusty, which was nice.
“I was just trying to get through the latter rounds without messing my hand up again, to be honest.
“My manager Iain (Wilson) knew I was thinking about my hand but he wasn’t too critical at all. He understood what I was going through.
“Now that I’ve got through that first one back I’ll definitely be a lot more confident heading into my next fight.”
After weeks of vigorous training, McAuley is off to Egypt on holiday this weekend in a bid to unwind properly.
But he insists he’s already dreaming of getting back into the ring, with a more difficult opponent being lined up for early next year.
McAuley said: “Fightzone put on a great show on the night.
“It’s such a good production and I’m delighted to be involved with them.
“I’m already focused on my next fight. I’m hoping to be back out again in February, which isn’t too far away at all.
“I’m ticking down the days and I’ll keep training because I’m always training. Even if I lost a leg I’d still find a way to keep training.
“This fight has got me back in the thick of it and now the next fight will be a step up to see how far we can take this.”
