Soccer-McClean set to trade boots for boxing gloves in late career turn

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - International Friendly - Republic of Ireland v New Zealand - Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland - November 21, 2023 Republic of Ireland's James McClean applauds fans after the match following his last international appearance REUTERS/Clodagh Kilcoyne/File Photo

Oct 30 (Reuters) - Former Ireland international and ⁠Wrexham captain JamesMcClean is a free agent after parting ways with hometown club Derry City on Wednesday and, ⁠though he is not done with soccer, his next sporting appearance may be in boxing rather than football.

The ‌combative 37-year-old, who made his name with Sunderland and West Bromwich Albion and has more than 100 caps, is a boxing fanatic and told Reuters that he wanted to take on British TV star Joey Essex in a bout for the Misfits promotion.

The former Premier League player was speaking to Reuters following ​the publication of his autobiography, "The Walls".

Known for his direct, no-nonsense style and competitive ⁠fire as a footballer, McClean has boxed for years ⁠as part of a daily training schedule that keeps him fit physically and mentally. He is relishing the chance to test ⁠his ‌skills in the ring.

"Sparring isgreat, pads are great, bags are great, but there's only one way to find out (how good I am), and that's stepping in the ring," he said.

"Boxing's new to me, so of course there's something I ⁠want to prove for myself because it's not something that I'veexcelled at before ... ​if that is what's next then, obviously, ‌it's exciting."

Having devoted his life to football, McClean is well aware that he does not have the time ⁠to start at the ​bottom of the boxing ladder and work his way up.

The recent surge in "influencer boxing", where everyone from high-profile social media figures to reality TV stars meet in the ring, means it is an attractive option.

"I'm almost 38 soon so for me to start a professional boxing career and ⁠go down that route, starting from scratch, it's just not plausible, given ​my age and having to do that," he said.

"It (influencer boxing) gives you the opportunity to fight people who aren't pro boxers and they make a decent earning on a couple of fights that probably most professional fighters never make throughout their whole career."

McClean has already ⁠been in the celebrity spotlight.

After he moved to Wrexham, owned by Hollywood stars RobMcElhenney and Ryan Reynolds, McClean featured in the reality TV series "Welcome to Wrexham" as the Welsh club won successive promotions to the second-tierChampionship.

"If I never kick a ball again, that's where I'll see the ending of my football career. And what a way to go - I'm from Derry but I actually see ​that club, because of the bond that we had, as kind of my adopted home, ⁠it's unbelievable,"he said.

McClean returned to Derry City in January after leaving Wrexham but the termination of his contract by mutual consent means ​he might make that ring walk sooner rather than later.

"I'm happy now in ‌the last 24 hours because I'm a free man, and for ​the first time in 20 years, I'm excited about what's next because I can decide what I want to do, and I'm not tied to football or anything else," he added.

(Reporting by Philip O'Connor; Editing by Ken Ferris)

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资料照片：足球 - 国际友谊赛 - 爱尔兰共和国对阵新西兰 - 爱尔兰都柏林阿维瓦体育场 - 2023年11月21日 爱尔兰共和国球员詹姆斯·麦克林在赛后向球迷鼓掌，这是他最后一次代表国家队出战。路透社/克洛达·基尔科因/资料照片

10 月 30 日（路透社）——前爱尔兰国脚、雷克瑟姆队长詹姆斯·麦克林周三与家乡球队德里城分道扬镳后成为自由球员，虽然他还没有完全告别足球，但他的下一个体育项目可能是拳击而不是足球。

这位好斗的 37 岁球员曾效力于桑德兰和西布罗姆维奇，并代表国家队出场超过 100 次。他是一位拳击狂热爱好者，并告诉路透社，他想在 Misfits 推广的比赛中与英国电视明星乔伊·埃塞克斯进行一场比赛。

这位前英超球员在自传《墙》出版后接受了路透社的采访。

麦克林以其直率、务实的风格和足球运动员时期的竞争精神而闻名，多年来，他一直将拳击作为日常训练的一部分，以保持身心健康。他非常期待在拳击台上检验自己的技能。

“陪练很好，拳靶很好，沙袋也很好，但只有一种方法可以检验（我的水平），那就是踏上拳台，”他说。

“拳击对我来说是全新的领域，所以我当然想证明自己，因为我以前并不擅长这个领域……如果这就是我接下来要做的事，那显然会令人兴奋。”

麦克林一生致力于足球，他很清楚自己没有时间从拳击界的底层做起，一步步往上爬。

最近“网红拳击”运动蓬勃发展，从社交媒体上的知名人士到真人秀明星，都在拳击台上展开较量，这意味着拳击是一项很有吸引力的选择。

“我快38岁了，所以对我来说，从零开始走上职业拳击之路，考虑到我的年龄和需要做的一切，这根本不可能，”他说。

“（网红拳击）让你有机会和非职业拳击手对战，几场比赛就能赚到相当可观的收入，这可能是大多数职业拳击手整个职业生涯都赚不到的。”

麦克林早已是备受瞩目的名人。

麦克林转会到由好莱坞明星罗伯·麦克尔亨尼和瑞安·雷诺兹拥有的雷克瑟姆俱乐部后，参加了真人秀节目《欢迎来到雷克瑟姆》，该威尔士俱乐部也连续晋级到第二级别联赛——冠军联赛。

“如果我再也踢不了球了，那将是我足球生涯的终点。这真是一个完美的谢幕方式——我来自德里，但因为我和那家俱乐部之间建立的深厚情谊，我把它当作我的第二个家，这真是难以置信，”他说。

麦克林在离开雷克瑟姆后于一月份重返德里城，但由于双方同意终止合同，他可能很快就会踏上那条通往冠军之路的大门。

“过去24小时我非常开心，因为我自由了。20年来，我第一次对未来感到兴奋，因为我可以决定自己想做什么，不再受足球或其他任何事情的束缚，”他补充道。

（菲利普·奥康纳报道；肯·费里斯编辑）

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