Stateside star

Stateside star

16 July 2025

SAINTFIELD boxer Luke McAuley is preparing to showcase his talents on the world stage after he was selected to represent Bridges Beyond Boxing Ireland (BBBI) in Detroit and Cincinnati, USA.

The 17 year-old, who fights out of Ormeau Road Boxing Club, will be part of a talented group of Irish boxers travelling stateside for contests against some of America’s top prospects in early September.

A highly promising fighter, Luke is coming off the back of a stellar year, shining in provincial and national competitions alike and cutting it amongst the best in Europe.

However, it has not always been plain sailing for the local lad. In fact, only two years ago, he suffered a double hand break in his last spar before the All-Ireland qualifiers.

To make matters worse, he was signed off, back into action, too early and was dealt another blow when the bones refractured in what was just his second spar after returning.

A full year of boxing was lost as a result and while that could have left a damaging impact on his progression, it was Luke’s resilience that prevailed.

He did not let the injury keep him down for long, working tirelessly in the gym to rebuild strength and come back fighting fit.

Since then, Luke has been making waves in the sport, beating the reigning Ulster champion, conquering the Italian champion by way of unanimous decision and losing just once in the past year.

That sole loss came in the All-Ireland semi-finals, where he missed out on a place in the decider to the current European gold medalist, despite going the distance. 

Defeat did not spell disappointment however, as Luke caught the eye of the right people and received the call to notify him of his selection for the BBBI squad.

Having boxed since the age of seven, the former East Down Amateur Boxing Club student has long held ambitions of representing his country, and his dreams are now becoming a reality. 

This latest achievement did not happen by chance, but rather through sheer hard work and determination — something Gareth McAuley believes his son has in spades.

“Luke trains six or seven days a week, between the boxing club, strength and conditioning and track days. This achievement is all down to his dedication behind the scenes,” he said.

“He understands the process and the system that has been put in place for him. He has a fantastic mentality, always remains calm and collected and uses each new achievement as a stepping stone.

“His attitude is that he doesn’t need a Plan B, because that would only distract him from Plan A. 

He never takes his eyes off the prize.”

As well as as Luke’s own talent, passion for the sport and work ethic, Gareth attributes much of his success to the people around him.

“His time at East Down Boxing Club, with James Reynolds and Skin Bell, was time well spent, his strength and conditioning coach, Peter Strain, does a world class job and he gets great help from Ulster Boxing’s High Performance Unit,” he added.

“Myself and Charlie Toland are in Luke’s corner and his grandfather, Des McAuley, has been his biggest supporter from day one, travelling the length and breadth of the country to watch him spar, fight and take him to strength and conditioning. 

He follows him through thick and thin.”

In just over a month, Luke will make the trip to the United States, and Gareth highlighted the impact such a trip could have for his career ambitions.

“He’s part of an exceptionally talented team. To be in that mix and fighting on the other side of the world, it puts different eyes on him.

“It will be a very strong competition, but he will be prepared and we’ll make sure of that.”