GB’s John Docherty turns professional

John Docherty

THE GB boxing team has bid farewell to Scottish middleweight John Docherty. After winning a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games, Docherty will turn professional with promoter Eddie Hearn and trainer Tony Sims.

In a statement a spokesperson for GB Boxing said, โ€œJohn Docherty was recently released by GB Boxing from the world class performance programme for boxing. We wish him every success in his future career.โ€

At Gold Coast 2018, Docherty scored a good win over talented English rival Ben Whittaker, a repeat of a victory over Whittaker from the Commonwealth Youth Games where Docherty won gold. But then in the semi-final of the Elite version Docherty put in a disappointing performance as he lost to Cameroon’s Dieudonne Wilfried Seyi Ntsengue. He plans to compete professionally at super-middleweight, so making weight could have hampered him as the tournament progressed.

He did win the 2016 GB championships and would have been one of the amateur squad’s leading contenders at 75kgs.

โ€œI am so excited to get my pro career started,โ€ said Docherty. โ€œI loved my time with GB and representing my country in Australia was a huge honour, but that chapter is closed now and I cannot wait to test myself in the proโ€™s.

โ€œItโ€™s brilliant to team up with Matchroom Boxing and Sky Sports, and training with Tony in Essex is going to bring me on so much. Thereโ€™s lots of class fighters in the gym and of course, Iโ€™ll be training with Ricky [Burns], who is a legend in Scotland and someone Iโ€™ve always looked up to, so to be able to learn from him every day is going to be amazing.โ€

john docherty

โ€œI am delighted to welcome John to the team,โ€ said promoter Eddie Hearn. โ€œJohnโ€™s amateur pedigree speaks for itself and he has all the ingredients to be a big success in the paid ranks.

โ€œHeโ€™s a fiercely ambitious young man that is eager to learn every day, which is vital to make it in this sport. Johnโ€™s commitment to move down to Tonyโ€™s gym in Essex to be alongside his fellow countryman and Scottish great Ricky Burns shows how dedicated he is to becoming a star, and I canโ€™t wait to see his journey get underway in the new season.โ€

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