'This is a chance for me to go and show my worth in front of my home city and represent it' as 'Posh Boy' Colm Murphy targets big win at upcoming Belfast Brawl bill

However, producing professional boxing champions hasn’t been the Malone Road school’s forte but unbeaten featherweight Colm Murphy is hoping to change that.

The ‘Posh Boy’ has won all 11 fights since turning professional and faces Scotland’s Jack Turner for the vacant Commonwealth Silver featherweight title at the SSE Arena on Friday night (June 28) as part of Frank Warren’s Belfast Brawl bill.

Speaking ahead of the fight, Murphy explains how he got in boxing and earned his nickname when he first arrived at St Agnes in Andersonstown.

“Methody is definitely a rugby school, there are scientists that have come from the school, I’m really glad to represent the school as it helped me growing up and made me the man that I am today, so I can say that proudly,” stated Murphy.

“I was always into Rocky and watching the Rocky movies and stuff like that. I remember me and my wee brother having our own spar on holiday.

“I was in second year (at school) and me and my da were just messing about in the house, he was a wee bit drunk and was play fighting me. I just hit him a dig messing about, it was all fun and games but he was stunned a wee bit and was like you have a weapon in that left hand so let’s get you into boxing and here we are.

“I went to St Agnes originally and that is where the ‘Posh Boy’ came from, I still look about 12, so it still suits.

“No one from my school really went up there, so me going up there with long curly hair it was like One Direction turning up, it was funny.”

Murphy did play a bit of rugby at school and recalls the first time he ever stepped into the ring.

“I was a winger in second year on the E’s and then I did boxing all summer, came back and got all the way up to the B team. Unfortunately, the people on the A team had been playing rugby since P3 and as well as that, they had a lot of weight on me,” he added.

“I was more than happy with the B team, Methody B’s was actually a pretty good achievement.”

On the first time entering the ring: “I did good. There was a lot of pressure as I wanted to show my dad and my uncles that I was serious about this and that I had it in me but they always believed in me too.

“I went in and a switch went off and I got stuck in. Even from my first spar I felt I was impressive and I was willing to give it a go and for me it was do or die mentality and it just came naturally.”

Murphy impressed as an amateur including a victory over Commonwealth gold medallist Jude Gallagher and stressed how it was an easy decision to join the professional ranks.

“I had a lot of fights, 60 recorded but probably closer to 100 with clubs shows and stuff like that,” he continued.

“That goes to show what Belfast is like because when I went over to England, they were shocked that how many fights I’d had because they only get at the maximum 10 fights a year.

“I was just in the right place at the right time as when Covid hit, I’d just lost the Ulster Elites against an amazing boxer JP Hale.

“I just continued training and got a job with Deliveroo and training flat out and keeping very fit.

“Because I’d won an Irish title the year before my uncle had promised to take me out to Dubai to train there.

“The second wave of Covid hit and I was kind of stuck in Dubai and I ended up fighting on the Game of Thrones 4 Card, where Steven Ward fought and that was like a semi pro fight.

“That was my first-time selling tickets and getting a taste of it all. Mark (Dunlop) kind of got wind of it because no one was boxing, I was just a lad from Belfast from the same school as his sons and he kind of took interest in that because I was studying, doing a degree and still training and trying to do my best at boxing.

“I came back to Belfast had my first fight in the Europa (hotel) and he said it was one of the best debuts he’d ever seen.

“I was always a good runner and long runs suited me as I always had the engine for it and the legs for it.”

Murphy has fought in the SSE Arena before but thinks Friday night will be a different experience.

He said: “It was an empty arena as it hadn’t filled up so this time I’m expecting to fill up, the lights to be off and it to be pretty mad.

“This is a chance for me to go and show my worth in front of my home city and represent it. I couldn’t ask for more as it has taken me 10 years to get to this point. I have put in the effort of almost 20-plus years, this is my day in day out everyday even when I am not having a fight I’m training everyday putting it in as this is the way I live.”

Murphy is being tipped for title shots but isn’t looking beyond the Turner bout.

“I can’t look ahead, I’m just soaking up the present so much, I am so grateful just to have this opportunity and I’m not going to let it slip," he stressed.

“I’m going to go out there and put in the performance of my life.

“I just focus on myself, Jack is five years my senior, it is a 50/50 fight, and this is where I perform and rise up to the challenge.

“He is a good boxer and I typically do well against good boxers and this is exactly where I want to be at this stage of my career.”