'He's mad, he'll fight anyone!' - Wrexham hero James McClean backed for professional boxing debut against Jake Paul or KSI

McClean has revealed he is pursuing a potential career switch to boxing once he leaves football. The midfielder was born in Derry in Northern Ireland and has returned to his hometown club after three years at Wrexham. 

Speaking to Westlife member Nicky Byrne in an interview, McClean said in 2025: "I'll be honest, I've really enjoyed it [at Wrexham] up until the last two or three months. It's not been ideal, I've not been playing as much as I'd like, which is never a good thing.

"You want to be playing and you want to be in the mix. I've never dealt really well with not playing. I wouldn't really say it's bad times, but it's been not as enjoyable personally for myself. When you're younger, you do daft stuff and you don't really handle situations maybe as maturely as you do as you get older.

"Nowadays, I just channel that frustration and annoyance and do my training. Before, I'd throw my toys out of the pram. Now, I just channel that frustration into the punch bag and it seems to blow off a bit of steam. You kind of feel better for it afterwards."

Both KSI and Jake Paul have made their way into celebrity boxing, parlaying their YouTube fame into huge viewing figures. 

And former Republic of Ireland international Jeff Hendrick says McClean is "open" to any potential opponent. 

He told Fruity King: "He's desperate for a professional boxing fight. He's open. He said it, whether it's in interviews or on social media. I think anyone who follows him sees he's boxing most days. It's not just a hobby for him, he loves the sport. He's adamant he's going to have a professional fight, so whoever that is against, I don't know. 

"I wouldn't say he's not going to have a professional fight. I'd probably put a bet on saying he potentially will. Could he fight Jake Paul or KSI? 

"He's been training hard at boxing for a good few years. He's going to be fairly handy. And his fitness, I know through football, his fitness is top. 

"He's one of the fittest players I've played with. So he will be ready and able. If a fight does come around and then it's just so, he's mad, he'll fight anyone. So I just hope he asks me to do the ring walk with him."

McClean expressed his excitement at joining Derry upon his arrival in the January transfer window.

He told a press conference: “It's a bit surreal that it's here and it's happened but I can’t wait to get started. Wrexham and how they have dealt with this, absolute touch of class, they made as easy as possible to come home. I spoke to the manager […] and I told him, the place I want to go is home.

“I like challenges in the career and this is now probably one of the best challenges I get to take on. This is the last club of my career, this is where I am ending my career. If I was to win a league title here and go out in that way I couldn’t write the script any better."

His manager, Tiernan Lynch, added: "For my end and the teams end, it was a no brainer. What he has done in the game, it speaks for itself it does not need me to tell them. However what he is going to bring to our changing room, that experience and that discipline. I am absolutely delighted to get him in.

“It just raises the level for everything that we do. All you have to do is have a conversation with him to understand that. The big thing now is that we have to do the work.”

McClean may well have a boxing fight in his future and he has his sights firmly set on the ambition.

He said: "I do want to box. Misfits (boxing company) is opening up opportunities for a lot of people who aren't professional boxers to give them the opportunity to step in and experience what it's like to be a boxer.

"Absolutely, it's something I want to do and there has been background chats about it, but I'm contracted at the moment. It's definitely something I want to do in the near future.

"A lot of my training now is boxing training. I have a bigger passion now for boxing than I do for football. I would rather watch boxing than watch football. It's something I want to do and it's something I want to experience to tick off my bucket list."