If John-Joe Carrigan can emulate his amateur successes in the pros, then Britain has a serious prospect on its hands.The Carlisle boxer’s résumé in the unpaid ranks speaks for itself: Nine English titles, nine North West titles, seven BoxCups, European gold medals at both Youth and Junior level, and his crowning achievement, a gold medal at the Under-19 World Championships.Carrigan has the potential to go all the way in the boxing gameGettyHis impressive pedigree and slick southpaw boxing put him on the radar of Hall of Fame manager Shelly Finkel, a man with an eye for talent.Finkel counts Mike Tyson, Deontay Wilder, and both of the Klitschko brothers among his long list of former clients, and he made it his mission to headhunt the precociously gifted Carrigan.The 19-year-old admits he thought somebody was pulling his leg when he received a phone call from the softly spoken New Yorker.But after countless failed attempts to reach out to Carrigan, the teen sensation eventually realised that the man on the other end of the line was the real deal.Assembling a team “It’s a funny story,” Carrigan told talkSPORT.com. “I was training with John [Stubbs] for the Worlds, and I started getting these phone calls.“So, I told John, ‘There’s this American that keeps ringing me and saying that he wants to manage me’.“And he shrugged it off, saying, ‘Don’t be silly, it’s probably just some random man ringing you’. “He kept calling, and I had it in my head that maybe he was one of those smaller promoters.“Then, I got a phone call from Mirko [Wolf], Willy Hutchinson‘s coach, and he said, ‘You’ll want to talk to this man’.“So me, John and Shelly sat down and had a FaceTime between the three of us, and we signed with him.Finkel actively pursued Carrigan as a client after spotting his talent earlyAFP - Getty“The goal wasn’t to turn pro at the start. In my eyes, I was going to do another Europeans, but two weeks later I decided that I wanted to turn pro now.”With long-time international amateur coach John Stubbs in his corner, and Finkel assuming the role of manager, the next step was finding a promoter.“When we were looking at which promoter to go with, we were looking at the long-term picture, and we decided Frank Warren was the best fit,” Carrigan continued.“Frank has the most experience in building fighters, and in my opinion, he’s the best in the business.“I’m only 19, and I turned pro at 18; there is no point in fast-tracking my career. “There is a lot still to learn, and we have time.”View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/CollinsLorente?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5EtfwTurning over as a professionalCarrigan made his professional debut in October of last year, blowing away Polish road warrior Dawid Przybylski inside the opening stanza at a packed-out Braehead Arena in Glasgow.The youngster is the first to admit that his eagerness to impress got the better of him after an accidental clash of heads left him with a nick above his right eye.His last three outings have, in stark contrast, been a showcase in composure and ring craft well beyond that of a young man his age.“It was the first time I had ever boxed without a headguard and a vest, and we were obviously in much smaller gloves, and those little gloves are dangerous,” added Carrigan, now 4-0, with 4 KOs.“When I was in the changing rooms, and I had them on my hands, I thought, ‘Oh my God, am I allowed to wear these?’“But it was all new, the press conferences, the interviews, the lights; you don’t get any of it in the amateurs. As an amateur, you box in a school hall in front of about 10 people.“Even when I boxed abroad in Germany in a BoxCup, there must have been no more than 12 people there. You could hear yourself breathe in the ring.“And then on my pro debut, I walked out to a massive crowd in Glasgow. I had never seen a crowd like it in my life.View Tweet: https://x.com/hashtag/OLearyChamberlain?src=hash&ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw“I nearly had a heart attack when I stepped out, to be honest. My legs were wobbly.“I was used to my coaches walking with me in the amateurs, but in the pros they go the other way, and you walk alone. “I was sat there behind the curtain for five minutes, and I’ve never thought so much about a fight in my life.“I was a bit too eager to impress, and I got pumped up by the crowd, and I got a little nick from sticking my head in, but I stopped him, and I learnt from it.“After my last fight, John told me to watch my first fight back and then my most recent one, and honestly, you see a massive difference.“Even in the way I walk out. It looks like I have been there a hundred times over.“And in the ring, I’m spending the first round figuring them out and then working my way up through the rounds. “I realise I have got more time than I used to think, especially now I’ve moved up to six rounds.”If Carrigan continues to develop at the rate he is, then he will be a handful for any man at 154lbs.All of the early signs suggest a bright future, but it is ultimately down to the ‘Starboy’ and his team to deliver on that promise.Watch Boxing on DAZN*If you click a link in this boxout, we will earn affiliate revenueSign up to DAZN to access the definitive subscription for boxing fans.Upgrade to DAZN Ultimate from just £24.99/month, guaranteeing access to 185+ fights annually, a minimum of 12 pay-per-views at no extra cost, as well as every Lega Serie A match and other elite football access.Alternatively, DAZN Standard is just £15.99/month, with the caveat you will have to pay for pay-per-view events.Click here to sign up.