Issue 127
April 2015
The Donegal-born lightweight tells FO why a Thai steel cup horror story has convinced him to keep using his trusted Shock Doctor groin guard
16oz Cleto Reyes Gloves
“I’m really wary about damaging my hands so I try to make sure I’m always training with a good pair of gloves on. At the moment I’ve been wearing some gloves from Reyes. They’ve been doing their job when I’ve been training and I haven’t had to worry about hurting my hands.”
Cleto Reyes Head Guard
“I always wear a head guard when I’m training for a fight. I don’t think it’s worth getting a cut or something broken so it’s better to wear one. The head guard I have has a nylon bar across the nose of it. I think the nylon bar is really important because it protects my nose quite well but it also prevents any cuts from underneath the eye.”
Kings Shin guards
“I wear Kings shin guards for added support really. When you’re sparring and you’re throwing kicks at each other there’s going to be a point where you and your sparring partner clash shins. Making sure I wear these is really to prevent any damage when that happens. Even though we’re training hard this isn’t a fight. We’ve got to prepare our bodies but make sure we’re 100% for when we compete.”
Shock Doctor Groin Guard
“Recently, I was having a conversation with one of the coaches from Tristar in Canada and we were talking about wearing a steel Thai cup. He was telling me how one of the fighters was wearing one and it snapped and got him in his groin. I think that was the end of his career, so I try to stay away from those (laughs). At the moment, I’m wearing a Shock Doctor cup and it seems to do a pretty good job for me.”
Fighting Sport Undisputed Sport Bag
“It’s a pretty big bag. Some bags can get really smelly, especially if they’re closed up for ages. I actually keep my bag open so it gets plenty of air inside it. I like it because I can fit pretty much all of the equipment I need inside of it so I don’t have to worry about what I might need for a day’s training.”
Under Armour Cold Gear Rash guard
“At the moment, I’m wearing Under Armour Cold Gear simply because I don’t want to be freezing my balls off when I’m training (laughs). Seriously, I find that it gets rid of the sweat pretty quickly when I’m training and when you take a round out from sparring you don’t want to cool down too quickly. There’s nothing worse than cooling down then having to get going again. It just doesn’t feel good when that happens.”
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