Chisholm keen for June fight

JAMES CHISHOLM is back in Cork this week celebrating his third professional win in the ring after an eventful trip to Copenhagen.

The 23-year-old former national junior champion ruled out any threat of a hometown decision when he knocked out Johnsenn Johannesborg in the fourth round of the scheduled eight round IBF light welterweight contest on the bill that saw the Scot Colin McCallum retain his IBF world middleweight title.

Chisholm is promoted by the Frank Moloney organisation and trains under Ed Richardson, although his profession as a personal trainer means that it is little more than a matter of fine tuning his boxing skills.

Four rounds is the furthest he has gone to date, both of his previous contests coming to an abrupt halt in the third round. This time, he lost the third round 59-58 after winning the first two against a taller and more experienced boxer.

“He was quite a good counter puncher and his longer reach obviously helped him,” Chisholm said. “I had been told to let him come to me but I decided to go after him. I had not fought since before Christmas and I suppose I was a bit anxious to get on with it. I caught him with a right hook and finished him off with a short left.”

Like Ben Dunne, he is having difficulty getting opponents to go the distance, but insists that he only wants credible opposition.

“I don’t want opponents who are washed up or anything like that. I have seen too much of that kind of thing and I could get those fights any day of the week,” he said.

“We are looking around for an opponent for another eight round contest in June as I feel I would like to get another fight behind me as soon as possible.”

The reason for his urgency is that he is starting his own business and expects to have it up and running in July.

“I will have a staff of five personal trainers working for me and we will be working in various gyms,” he said.

Personal trainers are all the rage in London and his clients include a leading Division One ice hockey team.

“They are also doing boxing tuition. Everybody appears to want to do it now. It is something that has not caught on in Ireland yet but I feel it could be only a matter of time.”