PROSPECT WATCH: John Joe Carrigan By Ruth Raper
I n boxing, there are a small handful of people who can look at a young fighter and see into the future. Often it’s the veteran coach who spots a young boy sparring and sees potential; sometimes it’s a father overseeing his son shadowboxing on the living room floor and sees talent. This time, it was a man who has seen potential come and go, and who has seen talent fall by the wayside countless times before. “Some American geezer keeps phoning me,” Carrigan told his coach, John Stubbs. “He keeps saying he’ll look after me if I stay amateur, and when I turn pro, if I speak to him, he can open some doors.” Stubbs, who had spent the best part of a decade as an England performance coach, had seen this all before: managers and promoters circling decorated amateurs at tournaments “like vultures,” as he puts it. His advice was to ignore it. “If you don’t know who he is,” Stubbs shrugged, “I’d probably leave it.” But the calls kept coming. Three weeks later, Carrigan mentioned it again, and this time Stubbs asked, “What’s his name?” Carrigan answered vaguely, “He’s called Shelly someone.” The seven-time national champion had no idea who
this mystery American was, but luckily for him, Stubbs knew exactly who this “Shelly someone” was and simply replied, “We might want to talk to him.” The Shelly in question was Shelly Finkel. The Hall of Fame manager, known for managing some of the sport’s biggest stars, including Evander Holyfield, Pernell Whitaker and Manny Pacquiao, knows exactly the right ingredients it takes to make a champion and, perhaps more importantly, the route to stardom. Finkel was tipped off by one of his current fighters. “I heard about John Joe from Willy Hutchinson, who knew him,” said Finkel. “He told me this is a great young prospect and you should take a look at him, and I did.” With all of this attention now surrounding Carrigan, you’d be forgiven for expecting a brash or egotistical young man, but he seems unmoved by all of the noise. “Every press conference, I get told I’m the best prospect in the world,” he says. “If I let that get to my head, I’d think I’m way further along than I am. I’ve had four fights. I’ve got no belts. I’m not ranked crazy numbers. Until I do that, I’ve just got to keep my feet on the ground.”
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