Meet the County Down boxer being tipped to follow in the footsteps of Carl Frampton.
Teenager Dylan Eagleson flexed his already burgeoning reputation by winning the Irish Under 22 Championships at the National Stadium in Dublin recently.
The 18-year-old boxes out of St Paul's ABC in West Belfast under coach Ralph McKay.
And while he is still in the fledgling stages of his career, McKay believes Eagleson has all the talent and charisma to become a fans' favourite.
"Dylan won the Under 22s and was then selected to go down to the elite centre at Abbottstown in Dublin," McKay told Belfast Live.
"He has also been called in by the high-performance unit based at Jordanstown and is on the panel for the Commonwealth Games. He fights at the same weight (54kg) as another St Paul's boxer, Brendan Irvine, so these Games might not happen for him.
"But if anything happens to Brendan then I am confident Dylan would be the perfect replacement.
Eagleson, from Bangor, has been with St Paul's for around seven year, and his recent success in Dublin saw the talented teen claim his fourth Irish title with the West Belfast club.
"He had no Irish titles before he came to us, and now he has won four," McKay added.
"He won the Under 18s before lockdown which was a good step up for him. He was only 16-and-a-half-years-old, so he was young when he won it. But then lockdown arrived and stalled things for him.
"He would have fought at the European Youths, but that tournament was knocked on the head because of the pandemic. That probably set him back two years.
"We got him training during lockdown, but it was difficult, as if was for every boxer.
"We got Dylan a punch bag for down the side of his house, and we got him down doing wee runs on the beach. Keeping him active.
"And then when we did return to the gym we were bubbling in groups of four, and when permitted we had some one-to-one groups.
"He is now at an age where he can be an elite boxer. It is just a shame the Ulster Elites were held in December 2021. They originally had a dispensation for 2003s to enter, but then that was scrapped.
"So that was frustrating.
"He has gone from youth to senior intermediate, and then the next natural step is to elite. And the Ulster Elites would have been a good stage for him."
And McKay believes the future is bright for Eagleson, in both the amateur and professional ranks.
He said: "Dylan is a special boxer. He has great potential, and I believe he can go very far in the amateur game.
"He is very skilful and is hard to hit. He works hard and has every shot in the book. He has good feet, head movement, can feint, and he knows every punch in the book.
"He ticks all the boxes to be, in my opinion, an amateur world champion."
McKay added: "We have been working with different clubs and boxers to get Dylan the sparring he needs. And he has been handling himself well.
"We have been delighted with his progress, and he is competing well. We got Dylan the experience that he needed to win in Dublin and move him to the next level.
"Next week he will be at Jordanstown for the high-performance training and I believe there is a Scottish team coming over.
"And then he could be heading to Croatia in March for another Under 22 competition. I think it would be hard not to select him.
"He was outstanding when he fought in the Irish final, and other coaches were coming over to say how well he boxed, and complimented his movement and things like that."
And McKay believes his young protege bears many similarities to former two-weight world champion Frampton.
North Belfast hero Frampton not only starred in the ring, but he also brought together often divided communities, with boxing the common denominator.
"I believe Dylan could be another Carl Frampton. He can unite all communities and everyone loves him," McKay added.
"He has a great rapport with different clubs, and other coaches are following him because they see how exciting he is to watch.
"That can all carry into the pro ranks at some stage, and he is an exciting kid and definitely one for the future.
"He will be well suited to the professional game. He is very talented.
"His movement and punches are world class. He sees opponent's punches coming as well and his instincts are first-class.
"He moves his head to avoid the punch, but he also lands a counter himself. He picks things up very quickly as well.
"Boxing is the art of hit and not get hit, and he has perfected that."
As Eagleson continues to follow his dreams, the pursuit does come at a cost.
And like many sportspeople in Northern Ireland, he has to source much of the funding himself for travelling and boxing.
"Dylan is non-funded at present, which is difficult," McKay said.
"Funding is so hard to come by and you rely on sponsors to help you. Dylan has to travel a lot and stay in accommodation.
"He needs some sort of revenue when he comes home. It is not an easy sport, and the boxers deserve more support.
"So if anyone can help out with sponsorship for the wee lad that would be brilliant."
