Aberdeen boxing stable Northern Sporting Club have completed the signing of undefeated Scottish featherweight Craig Morgan.
The 21-year-old boasts a flawless pro record of seven wins from seven fights and is a former two-time British amateur champion.
Southpaw Morgan also won seven Scottish titles before turning pro.
Morgan revealed he was set to box at the Commonwealth Youth Games only to have that dream dashed by a car accident.
The Fife-based boxer suffered concussion in the accident and was informed he couldn’t compete in the Commonwealth Games just 48 hours before he was due to fly out with the Scottish squad to the Bahamas.
Such was the impact of that set-back, Morgan stopped boxing for more than a year before returning and eventually entering the pro ranks.
He is the latest signing by Northern Sporting Club, who hope to be pushing him for a world Youth title within the next 18 months.
Morgan said: “I know Northern Sporting Club have my best interests at heart.
“It is trust. There are not many people you can trust in boxing, so if you have that trust with someone that is half the battle.
“I trust David (McAllister Jnr, Northern Sporting Club) and with his help I aim to take professional boxing by storm.
“There are obviously levels in boxing, but I will fight anybody for a title.
“With eight weeks of training, I will fight anyone.”
Car accident ended Commonwealth dream
Morgan extended his 100% record to seven wins from seven fights when defeating Edwin Tellez on points at the Emirates Arena, Glasgow on November 16, 2019.
That fight was on the undercard of the all-Scottish bantamweight showdown where Lee McGregor beat Kash Farooq in a fight for the British and Commonwealth titles.
The coronavirus pandemic hit in March 2020 and Morgan’s next scheduled fight was cancelled as the sport went into deep freeze due to lockdown restrictions.
During a decorated amateur career, Morgan burst on to the international scene in 2013 when he won bronze at the European Schoolboy Championships in Dublin.
Morgan was set to compete in the 2017 Youth Commonwealth Games in Nassau, Bahamas – only to be denied at the last minute.
He said: “I was selected for the Youth Commonwealth games in the Bahamas, but unfortunately I was in a car crash where I had a concussion and didn’t get to go.
“As soon as that happened, I thought my life was done.
“You get told years in advance that you could be in the next squad going, so you train and train for that.
“Two days before I was due to fly out I was told I wasn’t getting to go.
“I took a year off boxing and decided to focus on myself to make sure I was happy.
“That was a bump in the road, but at the same time it worked out for the best and opened up the way to turn pro and do something with my life.”
Joining an exciting roster of young talent
Morgan has joined a Northern Sporting Club roster that includes rising stars such as Billy Stuart, Callum Stuart, Andrew Smart and Ben Bartlett.
Stuart recently narrowly lost an IBF Youth world super-bantamweight title fight to Alejandro Jair Gonzalez on points.
Northern Sporting Club also boast three-weight Scottish champion Darren Traynor, who has fought for the British featherweight title.
Undefeated Kristen Fraser also won the Commonwealth bantamweight title with Northern Sporting Club.
Northern Sporting Club are also using cutting-edge sports science technology to maximise the title potential of rising boxing stars.
Spearheaded by renowned performance specialist/sports scientist Andrew Usher, the club are breaking fresh ground in boxing.
Morgan has also teamed up with coach Gary Young from Edinburgh, the former Scottish welterweight champion.
David McAllister Jnr, of Northern Sporting Club, said: “Craig is working with Gary Young.
“I want them to gel first and then after a couple of fights we will sit down and look at ways to progress him to the right level.
“Craig is looking to try to get a Youth world title, so we have 18 months to get that sorted so he can still fight for one.
“There is no massive rush for me, even though he will want to fight for titles sooner.
“However, if we get a couple of fights under his belt and the right fight, right opponent and right title comes, we will obviously take it.”
Targeting title fights in the future
From the village of Kelty in Fife, Morgan had a stellar amateur career with 70 wins from 77, amassing an impressive array of titles.
McAllister said: “We will look to get Craig a fight or two before the end of the year and then have big fights down in different areas of Fife.
“I think it is a travesty that there are young kids who are not getting the chance to fight in their own towns or areas.
“If you want to build their careers, do it in areas where they are from if it can be done.
“We will build Craig in Fife and put on big fights for him there.
“There is nothing stopping him fighting for a title in Fife.”