Golden Boy Farrell is forced to quit boxing

Niall Farrell…hand damage has ended his fight career

NIALL Farrell – a former outstanding Team GB amateur considered one of the pro game’s hottest prospects – has been forced to retire through injury.

The 27-year-old made the decision after being informed by specialists that surgery on his badly damaged right hand had only a 50-50 chance of success.

The game has lost a real talent destined for titles. Lightweight Farrell, part of a famous Birmingham fighting family, was named Midlands prospect of the year and unbeaten in seven.

As an amateur, he had faced – and beaten – the very best in the world. He had 126 amateur bouts, won European Championship silver in 2017, competed in the 2017 and 2021 World Championships and Birmingham’s Commonwealth Games.

Big things were expected of Niall, a product of dad Paddy’s famed 2nd City gym in Kingstanding. He put punches together in lightning burst

He had the talent and tenacity, but fragile hands have dashed Farrell’s dreams. To my knowledge, he has undergone three operations to repair damage.

The injury that ended his career was unlikely to respond to surgery, experts believed. In layman’s terms, Niall ruptured the sleeve of sinew- what’s called the “hood” -  that covers tendons.

He faced fighting through agonising pain and being unable to punch with full force.

Cleary emotional, Niall said: “I’ve seen multiple consultants who have said I could end up disabled. It’s a hard pill to swallow. I’m a fighting man and now I can’t do that. Even talking to you about it is hard. It’s all I’ve done.

“It’s something I’ve done all my life, it’s my normal. If I can’t do it, what do I do?

“I had a decision to make, do I risk it and end up disabled? I couldn’t see any other course. I had great sponsors and I told them I’d be a champion. I was fulfilling that. I sacrificed a lot, my dad sacrificed a lot.

“Things happen for a reason, even if I don’t know what the reason is. It’s hard to think, ‘that was me, I was a boxer’. I love the sport.”

Manager Jon Pegg said: “He has put his health before boxing and, obviously, I agree with that. He saw a specialist who said an operation had only a 50-50 chance of being successful.

“It is a real shame because he had everything to go somewhere. He had the talent, he had the right spitefulness that is needed – it’s just such a shame.

“You have fighters who have everything needed in working order and just can’t be bothered. Niall had everything and was dedicated.”

Farrell last fought in April and really shone in a bruising battle with rugged, quality Mexican Ramiro Garcia Lopez at Cannock’s Premier Suite.

It was the first real test of his fledgling career – the bruises showed that - and he passed it with flying colours, winning a landslide six round decision.

In an interview last year, Niall told me: “I want to be a seasoned pro. I don’t want to get to 15-0 against journeymen, lose and then disappear.

“I’m not looking for a quick fix, I want to be in this game a long time. I know I will get there, so what’s the rush? I can take my time, get the rounds in and push my way up the rankings.

“I have complete belief in myself that I will become a world champion. It’s just a case of when the time is right for me to challenge for these titles.”.

Sadly, fans can only reflect on what Farrell could’ve achieved.