'Ah Mr Fagan, I see you've been fighting again'

Johnny Wattersontalks to the Irish lightweight champion who turned to boxing when tough times struck after a football scholarship in the US

OISÍN FAGAN is a football scholarship student, who turned to boxing in Okalahoma City in order to earn money to buy an air ticket back to Ireland. He is now the Irish lightweight champion and will fight the golden boy of British boxing and Olympic gold medallist, Amir Khan, early next month in London.

I lived in Tallaght first but the family moved to Portmarnock when I was 12. It was there I started playing football with St Malachy's and Portmarnock. The Portmarnock juniors got into the Leinster Cup final and it was in that match I was noticed by scouts.

I ended up going to college in America on a football scholarship, studying physical education and political journalism. Just as I was finishing my degree I got injured. At that stage I was 24 and was qualified to go into teaching. But they were hard times and those days were difficult days for me. Basically, there were no jobs around.

I think it was mainly due to the fact nobody wanted to deal with my visa issues. To be honest, I was desperate and I'd no money at all. I mean I was forced to sponge off people and stay in their gaffs. Looking back now it was a really hard time for me. But in some ways I'm glad it happened. I believe when things like that happen to you in life it makes you more resilient.

To get money I went down to this boxing club in Oklahoma City. It was called the Badlands Gym. I'd three amateur fights under my belt from back in Dublin. I'd always used boxing to train for the football and to stay fit. I always thought it was a great way of staying in good nick.

So I just walked in the door and asked this guy to throw me in with anyone. I told him I didn't care who he put me in the ring with. I just needed the money to get me home so I didn't care who it was I was going to fight. He put me in with another fella who was making his debut called Sheldon Mosley. I just wore him down then KO'd him in the fourth round. At the end of the fight a school principal came up to me and we started talking.

I told him I was a PE teacher and he said the PE teacher in his school had just left the previous week. He told me to come around to him the following week for an interview. That was a real God thing, I believe.

It was crazy. But it was meant to be. I've got a lot of faith and that copper fastened the faith in my mind. I was in dire straights and it just happened like that. Bang, bang, a fight and a job.

The school was called Columba's Elementary, predominantly Hispanic kids mainly from a low socio-economic background. I loved it there and I really miss it. I'd come in on a Monday morning and they'd say "Ah Mr Fagan I see you've been fighting again."

That's then when all the boxing started. A promoter got me more fights and some of them were big fights. I was beaten on points by Julio Cesar Chavez at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas in front of 15,000 Mexicans. It was Chavez's coming out party. But it was a really close fight. I was happy even though I lost it on a split decision.

I then got myself a promoter from Arkansas but he didn't have a lot of money to promote me. I went on to have a 12- to 14-fight winning streak and then took on the former (IBF lightweight) world champion Paul Spadafora and he won that one on a split decision. To be honest, I thought I'd beaten him. I'm not a skilful type of fighter but I've got loads of heart. I'll keep going and I know I can make it hard for anyone.

I've never really had a big promoter backing me or a big sponsor. I'm not bitter about that but you wonder what it might be like to have that behind you.

It has always been me being the underdog but I've been getting high-profile fights and really this fight against Khan has come at just the right time. Frank Warren got in touch with Brian Peters. It was as simple as that. I train every day anyway and I keep in good nick all the time. I see it as the chance of a lifetime. That's for sure.

They are saying in the British press that it will be tough for Khan. They've realised that. Most people would say that this is going to be a very tough fight. I'd like him to think it won't be tough.

I know what the crowd will be like for the Khan fight. But I don't mind that sort of thing. Even against Spadafora everyone was against me and I fought Chavez in front of the 15,000 Mexicans. Actually it spurs me on, makes me more determined.

Right now I'm in Portmarnock with my parents and I'm getting married to an American girl next July.