“I’m going to bring an exciting style to the pro scene.”
That is the confident prediction of top North-East amateur-turned-professional Cyrus Patterson.
The 24-year-old has signed a long-term promotional deal with Matchroom and will make his professional debut on the undercard of Lewis Ritson’s IBF final eliminator with Jeremias Ponce in Newcastle on Saturday, June 12.
A top international talent in the unpaid ranks, the Northumberland welterweight will be managed by Charlie Sims, trained by his Birtley ABC coach Graeme Rutherford and promoted by the number one in the business, Eddie Hearn.
His debut at the Vertu Motors Arena (formerly known as the Newcastle Eagles Community Arena) will be at light-middle though his plan is to excel at 147lbs.
“I want to push myself as far as I can go,” said Pattinson.
“I’m going to bring an exciting style to the pro scene.
“Being from Team GB, I’ve showed plenty of times that I can box – use space well and close down space. I can fight as well.
“I’ve been in many wars in competitions and in the gym.
“I know I’m capable of doing both. I’d say I’m made more the pros.
“Signing up with Eddie and Matchroom is something that I have always wanted and thought about – to the point where I even created my own ‘Welcome to the Team’ graphic a few years ago to keep myself motivated and positive when I was going through one of my surgeries.
“To be honest I was looking to start my professional journey at the beginning of 2020. I was ready to turnover from Team GB and I’d already had discussions with Charlie Sims.”
For all his amateur frustration, his career has hardly been a disaster.
The Alnwick boxer won gold medals at renowned international tournaments such as the 2016 Feliks Stamm and 2017 Tammer while he represented the British Lionhearts in the World Series of Boxing.
Pattinson was also one win away from the 2016 Olympic Games, only to lose his European qualifier quarter-final to Armenia’s Vladimir Margaryan in Turkey.
GB Boxing sent North-East neighbour Josh Kelly to the next qualifying event, with the Sunderland boxer taking the welterweight spot for Rio.
It shows how competitive it was for Pattinson but his CV is proof that there is no shortage of talent.
Now there is no lack of motivation to make inroads as a professional.
“My opportunities were limited [for Britain], they could only send one boxer to the majors and that wasn’t me at the time,” he said.
“I’ve been ready to turn pro for a while and start a new chapter for myself.
“Being 27 I’m a man now and all of the experiences that I’ve endured have prepared me for the pro game.”
Pattinson will be part of a big night of boxing which will be screened live on Sky Sports.
Ritson v Ponce headlines an event which is likely to involve leading North-East talent such as April Hunter, Joe Laws, Tommy Ward and Terence Wilkinson.
Words: Roy Kelly
