THOMAS CARTY is the heavyweight prospect making a name for himself for his secret sparring sessions with the biggest stars in boxing.
Carty is only 5-0, with four knockouts, but he has already shared the ring with the likes of Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
That is despite being managed by former world title challenger Dillian Whyte, who has boxed but been beaten by AJ and Fury.
So Carty finds himself in the middle of the warring British trio – but manages to stay out of the firing line.
He told SunSport: “It is a bit weird in fairness, it’s crazy to think I’m managed by Dillian, one of the top five guys but then I’ve sparred Fury, sparred AJ.
“I’ve been in with them all really from the top level bar Wilder, it’s a weird one but sparring is just work at the end of the day.
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“And I’m really sought-after sparring, absolutely it’s a tight-knit community. There’s always people looking for me to go sparring with them.
“But unless it’s worth my while experience-wise or financially, I don’t really entertain it as much. I can’t be travelling sparring all the time.”
Carty’s slick southpaw style makes him an in-demand face among boxing’s most respected gyms.
And the only sparring partners missing from Carty’s elite list is Oleksandr Usyk, 36, and Deontay Wilder, 37.
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He said: “I’ve sparred Hrgovic, Chisora, Bryant Jennings, I’ve sparred Lawrence Okolie.
“I’ve sparred obviously AJ, Dillian Whyte, Fury, sparred some other really top heavyweights, some European guys you probably haven’t heard of.
“I’ve sparred them all really, other than Usyk or Wilder.”
Fury, 34, hired Carty, 27, earlier in the year when he looked to be in line for an undisputed title fight with Usyk.
Talks were short lived but it allowed the Irishman to get a glimpse of greatness up close and personal.
He said: “Fury’s conditioning was really frightening, it was next level to be completely honest. It really surprised me.”
And despite trading leather with some super heavyweights, it is actually cruiserweight champ Okolie, 30, who left the biggest mark.
Carty said: “Lawrence Okolie has been one of the hardest hitters. He’s a cruiserweight and a really, really sharp puncher.”
The Irishman returns on Saturday against eccentric Scot Jay McFarlane, 25, on Katie Taylor’s undercard.
Taylor, 36, challenges Chantelle Cameron, 32, for all super-lightweight titles in the first fight in Ireland since 2014.
It has inspired Carty to clean up the domestic titles before moving onto world honours.
He said: “After this, I really want to win the Irish title. Once I’ve collected the Celtic, title, then I want the Irish title to the collection.
“World rankings definitely, but I want to tidy things up domestically.
“People are skipping too much, I want to go after the Irish and the Celtic title and them move forward.
“I’m in absolutely no rush, I’m 27 years of age, with an experienced team everyone is getting me the right fights and the right time.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
