Darren Johnstone remembers being part of boisterous Glasgow crowds and savouring the atmosphere as Ricky Burns and Josh Taylor were on their way to becoming world champions.
It is a memory that fuels the Wishaw boxer’s own journey as he looks to another belt to his collection this weekend.
The reigning Scottish super-middleweight champion takes on stablemate Paul Kean on Kynoch Boxing’s Fright Night at the Crowne Plaza hotel in Glasgow, this time with the vacant Celtic title up for grabs.
It is another step in what the 26-year-old hopes will be the manifestation of a dream that began when he first stepped into a boxing gym as a 12-year-old and became immediately transfixed by what he discovered there.
A decorated amateur career in which he boxed globally for Scotland hinted at a potential that has so far been partially fulfilled, with eight victories and just the one loss in his nine contests since turning over to the professional ranks where he has been trained by Jim Love in Larkhall since 2021.
The British title will be the next target in 2025 should he successfully navigate his way beyond Kean, with a desire for that to then provide the launchpad for international honours.
“I’m happy with where I’m at just now in my career,” he says. “I’ve already got the Scottish title so if I can add the Celtic then that will help get me back up the rankings. But I still want to push on to bigger things. I want to be a British champion. That’s the aim.
“I want to keep adding titles and putting my name out there. The journey so far has been great, I’ve loved every minute of it. I’ve been boxing since I was 12 when I joined Forgewood Boxing Club in Motherwell. I gave it a try one day with my two pals and just fell in love with the sport right away.
“It’s just been about progressing since those early days. I remember watching Ricky Burns and Josh Taylor winning world titles and going to the Hydro for some of those big nights. That was brilliant and made me realise that was what I wanted to achieve one day too.”
Kean will be no pushover, however. The Dundonian with the 18-3 record has competed for Commonwealth and European titles in the not-too-distant past and previously held the Scottish super-welterweight crown. Johnstone, though, is not deterred by his opponent’s stature.
“Paul’s an experienced fighter so this will be a good test for me,” he adds. “But I feel confident. I’m the better fighter with the better background, including going back to my amateur career. I boxed internationally for Scotland all over the world and won the Scottish championships twice and got a silver in the British. That’s all helped me massively in my pro career too.”
The one loss on Johnstone’s record was a painful one. Asked at short notice to take on the undefeated Mark Jeffers for the Commonwealth silver title in a contest broadcast live on Sky Sports in May, the challenger did not take a backwards step in accepting.
Jeffers, though, proved too strong and ended the fight with a devastating right-hand shot in the fifth round that saw the referee wave the fight off before the Scot had even hit the canvas. It was an alarming sight as paramedics rushed in to affix an oxygen mask before Johnstone signalled that he was okay, much to the relief of his opponent and all those watching in person and on television.
It is the sort of punishment that would deter many boxers from stepping back into the ring but not Johnstone, a labourer during the day for Graham Construction Management, who views it only as a blip in his trajectory to the top.
“That was a tough night but I took that fight on 10 days’ notice,” he reveals. “I knew he was ranked highly but I felt I was capable of beating him. And I couldn’t say no to that opportunity to compete for another title. If I’d passed that up I might not get another one like that down the road.
“I gave it a go but the better man won. Simple as that. The way it ended gave me a bit of a fright but after a day or so I was fine and ready to get back into it. It was a bit scary for my friends and family watching on TV but it hasn’t put me off at all. Not one bit. I’ve no regrets about taking it and I’ll just keep pushing on and trying to get back to that stage as soon as I can.”
