The Incredible shrinking Gillen

Craigavon man James Gillen has a double fight on his hands – to be crowned Heavyweight Kickboxing Champion of Ireland and to lose more than six stone in weight.
Until just a few weeks ago, Gillen tipped the scales at 129kg (21 stone) - but he needs to get down to 96kg (15 stone) for his title fight on September 19.
The 29-year-old security consultant is training for the battle, when he will face Chris Dowling of Galway, at Billy Murray’s famous ProKick Gym in east Belfast. He is putting in at least two hours a day of punishing work.
“When James first took up the sport at Prokick he was a thunderous 24 stone,” his coach Murray said. “But over the last two years he has dropped down to a slimmer 129kg just through his normal training at the gym.
“For the last two weeks, I have put James through the mill. Every morning before he heads to work he’s with me at the gym and he’s sticking to my diet-plan which has brought me through a dozen or more of my own title bouts. His target is 96kg - a mammoth task but he will do it. The Aiken Diet has nothing on this regime.”
“If I can beat the scales, I’ll destroy Dowling,” said Gillen. “It’s very hard trying to make the weight, but I know I can do it. I wanted to lose it for the challenge - I like to do things when people tell me I can’t. And also my coach and I think that heavyweight is my optimum weight.”
Gillen and Dowling met in June when Gillen took the Irish Super Heavyweight title.
“I beat him before when I was heavier and slower. Now, he has no chance,” he said.
Gillen is the current instructor at Prokick’s Lisburn club and took the helm at the new Andersonstown branch in Belfast at the start of September.

Below some pictures of James at super heavyweight

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