ERIC DONOVAN MOVED into double digits in the professional ranks on Saturday night, earning his 10th professional victory — a seventh by stoppage — on his UK debut at London’s iconic York Hall.

Donovan took less than three rounds to rid himself of tough Nicaraguan Moises Mojica puncher, previously 9-7-2 with six KOs, who had taken highly regarded British prospect Sean McGoldrick the distance earlier this month.

“My amateur skills and fundamentals are always there but I had to dig in at times and show him what’s what,” Donovan told The42 post-fight. “It’s something we’ve been working on, fighting in the pocket, being comfortable in the chaos.”

His manager and promoter, Leonard Gunning of Boxing Ireland, added:

We want Eric to fight one of the big Spaniards or one of the big Brits. We’d like the European title by the end of the year and it’s a realistic and achievable goal.

Part of the reason for fighting Mojica was that the Central American is Spanish-based, and so Gunning and Donovan wanted to send a message to the Spanish featherweight division — four of whose participants are ranked top 15 by the European Boxing Union (EBU), and one of whom in Adoni Gago is the new EBU European champion.

The rest of the top 15 consists almost solely of British fighters, hence Donovan’s introduction to the UK market at a crucial career juncture.

He’ll likely fight again in Ireland when Boxing Ireland continue their acclaimed Celtic Clash series in September, but given his technical proficiency and the danger he presents, the popular Donovan may have to hit the road again in search of the blue belt he covets, or even in order to take a significant step towards fighting for it.

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