Elite Boxing Gym fighter, Lee Gormley, admits sponsorship is key to helping him progress as a professional.

A late arrival to the sport, the 32-year-old Northern Irishman, now fighting out of Bolton, recently registered a third pro victory, on points against Naeem Ali, in Newcastle last month.

The super featherweight is scheduled to return to the ring in November at Houghton-le-Spring looking to secure a fourth win in his fifth bout.

But he acknowledges he is only competing at the level he is due to the help of sponsors - and says there is always room for more support.

Gormley told the gym’s website: “Sponsorship from local businesses and companies is crucial for me in order to continue pursuing my goals and stay active as a boxer with regular fights throughout the year.

“A lot of people may not be aware of the costs that come with being a professional fighter but there’s a lot of expenditures. This is for both training and the build-up to fights, then the actual costs of getting in the ring as well.

“I’ve been very fortunate in these early days of my boxing career to have had great help from sponsors already, both from the local regions where I’m based and back in my home of Ireland.

“John Byrne, from Byrne Civil Solutions Ltd, in Manchester, was the very first sponsor who came on board with me when I first began as a professional and was just finishing as an amateur boxer. He showed a lot of faith in me and his monthly support has been extremely helpful to this stage. John runs a brilliant civil engineering business and has shown his support further by attending my fights with family. I’m grateful for his support from both ringside and every month as a key sponsor.

“Also in the Manchester area, Luke Vaughan from Roofkings has been really helpful with sponsorship as well. Also a professional fighter himself and running a busy roofing company, Luke is a great guy and is always willing to support me and other young amateurs boxers out of our gym in Bolton, Elite Boxing Gym.

“Back in my home of Armagh, Anthony Hendron, from Hendron School of Motoring, is another who is regularly helping my boxing journey through sponsorship. A long-time family friend, Anthony is the best driving instructor in my home area of Lurgan and he even taught me how to drive years ago, too. His support is much appreciated.

“Go Click Media are another great company in Ireland who have had my back in recent fights. Run by my long-time friend and the company’s director, they specialise in achieving cost-effective results for people as a reliable PPC Ads Agency. Their support in my recent fights has been hugely beneficial and I am very grateful for their support.

“Any additional help would also be appreciated if anyone wants to get on board. Having financial support each month from like-minded and hard-working local companies, who are open to helping with my professional boxing journey, is a massive boost for me and an important part of it all.”

The Northern Irishman got into boxing after getting the big when a bad knee injury stopped him doing most other sports.

And he is full of credit to everyone at Elite, including head coach Alex Matvienko, for their encouragement.

He continued: “I was a very late starter when it comes to boxing, having not taken it up properly until my early 20s.

“From a very young age I’d always been very athletic and played Gaelic and football from early on back home in Ireland.

“A bad knee injury while living in Leeds forced me to stop doing the sports I had enjoyed my whole life, which drained me of any motivation.

“But having then moved to Manchester I fortunately came across Elite Boxing and, after a gruelling very first session, I instantly became as motivated as ever and caught the ‘boxing bug’ as they say.

“With the great help of all the quality coaches involved I’ve developed and progressed a lot in a short space of time.

“Since then I’ve reached a good standard and compete regularly, while training alongside and sparring with plenty of top-class amateur and professional fighters every day.

“You always hear athletes and others at the top level of sports say “it’s never too late”, and I’ve found that to be true with boxing. It’s mad how far hard work, passion and the right team around you can get you.

“Elite has now become a big part of my life away from home and I look forward to everything else yet to come.

“There’s no easy way around it; being a professional boxer is tough. Boxing is my passion and I give my all to this sport, all the while balancing a full-time job and my family life, with two young children and my fiancé.

“It’s a demanding lifestyle but I work hard every single day to try and improve and continue my progression while chasing my boxing goals and dreams.”