A NEW LIFE:DECLAN TIMLIN's goal is to be the next Irish heavyweight boxing champion - despite the fact that he never had an amateur career in boxing.
So dedicated is he that the Galway-based businessman gets up at 5.30am every morning to go for a run before doing a full day's work and then training for three hours a day coming up to a fight.
Although he had been interested in sport from a young age, it wasn't until the Mayo native went to live in New York that he became involved in boxing.
Timlin was working as a carpenter when he joined a gym in Woodside, Queens where he started to train as a boxer with Steve Katz. He became involved in cage boxing, a tough combination of wrestling and boxing that takes place in an octagonal cage.
He explains: "It's legal to break joints in cage boxing. My left arm snapped during one fight and I was 10 months in a sling. I had to pay €10,000 for the surgery because I was illegally working in America and I couldn't afford rehab because I had no medical cover."
Despite being told by a surgeon that his sporting career was finished, Timlin was back in the gym within a week, lifting weights with his right hand and with his left hand in a sling. He built up the strength in his left arm very gradually by lifting spoons at home in the evenings. However, it took two years before his arm was back to its normal strength.
Having decided he wanted to "sharpen up my hand skills", he then joined the famous Gleason's Gym in Brooklyn where many of the world's top heavyweight boxers - including Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Mike Tyson and Lennox Lewis - trained.
While Timlin was training at Gleason's, Hilary Swank was training there for her gruelling role as a boxer in the hit movie Million Dollar Baby. He had three fights during his time in the US and won them all. He and his brother John got their professional licences before leaving the US, despite never having actually boxed as amateurs.
Timlin can also claim rather dubious credit for helping Justin Timberlake to toughen up his teenie bopper image after leaving the pop band, Nsync. After being spotted training in Gleason's, Timberlake's "people" asked him to go to Andy Warhol's private estate in Long Island for a photo shoot for GQ magazine with the singer.
After nine years in the US, Timlin decided it was time to return to Ireland, where, four years ago, he set up his own construction company in Galway, Madec Interiors. Unable to find a gym in Galway of the calibre of the gyms he was used to in New York, he and his brother Clement decided to set up their own gym, Olympic Physique, off the Tuam Road in Galway just over a year ago.
These days, Timlin rises every morning at 5.30am to go for a jog, alternating between three- and six-mile runs. He is at his own construction job at 8am and, after setting up that job, he usually heads away to check the other jobs the company has on that day.
He goes to his other business, the gym, at 5pm, where he works out for three hours each day before a fight.
Timlin is fortunate to have Sean Mannion as his trainer. Mannion is a former boxing champion from Rosmuc, Connemara, and fought Mike McCallum for the world light middleweight title in 1984. To date, Timlin has had three fights in Ireland, all of which he has won - bringing him to a total of six fights, six wins and three knockouts.
Unlike amateurs, professional boxers get paid to fight, but Timlin explains that he will have to win a title before he starts to make any money from his passion. His ambition is to win the title of Irish heavyweight and to then aim his sights at a European title.
"The current Irish heavyweight champion is Kevin McBride, who has fought 30 fights. I doubt he will fight for the Irish title again, he has already gone to the top and beat Mike Tyson. I doubt he would want to fight a guy from the west of Ireland, there's always the chance that he could lose in heavyweight."
Some in the professional boxing circuit dismiss fighters such as Timlin, who do not have a successful amateur career behind them, which annoys Timlin intensely. He believes that if he is prepared to put the work in, he should have the same chance at the professional titles as anybody else.
Coming up to a fight, Timlin works with sports psychologist Gerry Hussey. He gets an edge on his opponent through positive thinking, concentration and watching films such as Platoon and Rocky the night before.
His aim for this year is to get in four to six more fights with an eye on the Irish title. His tough training regime leaves little free time and it's usually 11pm before he returns home each night.
He remarks: "Other guys who are pro boxers have serious money and people behind them. They get up in the morning, go for a run and go back to bed for a while. I would love to be able to do this eventually, but my goal at the moment is the Irish heavyweight title. If you have a love for training, you're halfway there, it's not a job for you."
