Jason Quigley labelled his North American Boxing Federation (NABF) middleweight title victory on Thursday night as a "graduation" for him as a boxer.
The Ballybofey native scored a unanimous decision victory over Glenn Tapia, despite suffering an injured right hand during the second round.
Speaking to Highland Radio, Quigley shared his feelings after the fight.
"It's a very prestigious belt and it's a great one to have on the record," he told Oisin Kelly.
"A man coming from Donegal and selling out the Fantasy Strings Resort in California, it's a dream come true for me. I'm delighted now to have accomplished that and to have achieved what I wanted to go out and do.
"This is only the start for me, just a stepping stone. It's great to get the win and now it's time to sit back and relax, enjoy the victory and the belt.
"This was a graduation for me, to get in there and go 10 rounds with a top quality opponent. It was my first main event and my first time to go live on ESPN."
Despite getting the better of his American counterpart in the opening rounds of the fight, Quigley was hindered by hurting his hand and this stopped him from getting the early stoppage he sought.
"I knew he was a great opponent, he's fought former world champions. All his defeats have come against world class opposition.
"I felt very comfortable in the first, second and third round. I felt in control and I thought it'd be an early night - that I'd stop him.
"But in the second round I sort of hurt my hand a little bit and I couldn't really throw my right which was the shot that was hurting him.
"After the end of the second round I hit him with a left hook and he did a bit of a dance on his way back into the corner.
"His legs were gone. I wish I had a few more seconds to land some more punches on him."
He added: "I felt like crying every time I landed with the right hand, because it felt like I was cracking it up."
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