Dee Walsh's 'biggest lesson' a reminder of legendary trainer's advice

Dee Walsh admits he learnt a lot from Padraig McCrory's defeat to Edgar Berlanga four months ago - but one aspect of the fight stood out more than anything else.

Belfast boxer McCrory suffered the first defeat of his pro career with a sixth-round stoppage in Florida.

It was a sizeable step up for the 35-year-old super-middleweight, with Berlanga now eyeing up a massive showdown with Canelo Alvarez.

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McCrory is plotting his own ring return before the end of the year, and trainer Walsh expects a refined and fired up fighter to bounce back from his recent setback.

And for Walsh, one of the main lessons learned from February's loss in Orlando is the importance of speed, both in attack and defence.

He told Belfast Live: "Speed is a big thing. You might not see it on TV, but it made me go away thinking speed beats everything. They always say timing beats speed, but you need to be very quick to do that.

"You have to keep it in your mind. Be fast, be quick."

Walsh says the Florida lesson reminded him of some sage advice handed down by legendary trainer Michael Hawkins when he was forging his own name as a young boxer.

He often recalls Hawkins' wise words which he now uses on his own stable of amateur and professional boxers.

He said: "I remember Mickey Hawkins trained me at Holy Trinity, and he probably won't remember this. But he always said you even have to think fast. Your mind needs to be fast.

"So it is something I try and implement now, even with the amateur kids I train. One of the keys is be fast."

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