It takes very little effort to get animated at the moment if you’re an Irish boxing fan. Just seven weeks on from a fantastic nights boxing at the National Basketball Arena in Tallaght, we are again being served another boxing treat as Dolphil Promotion deliver one of the biggest ever professional shows in the history of Irish boxing here in Citywest this afternoon.
With the Dolphil camp expanding at an alarming rate and fighters like Anthony “The Pride” Fitzgerald 10-2 (KO2) making steady progress and Willie “Big Bang” Casey due back in Citywest on the 19th March for his Cuban fecha, it is understandable that certain troops might remain under the radar. Mixed among the “Bill Toppers” and “Come back Kings” here at Citywest today are Dolphil’s Mullingar double act John Joe (JJ) & Paddy McDonagh who hold current records of 3-1 (KO3) and 4-0 respectively.. If you’re on the lookout for some real deal prospects, the good news is you need look no further then these sibling pugilists.
The eldest of the prize pair is John Joe (JJ) who at the age of twenty five has accumulated eight National titles in over two hundred and fifty amateur fights. A Junior World Championship quarterfinalist in Korea, JJ swapped his vest for the paid ranks in December 2009. Since then JJ has notched up a 3-1 (KO3) record, with his only loss coming in a shock knockout to Belfast’s Tommy Tolan 4-4 (KO3), in a fight he dominated before a big right from Tolan insured the legend of the “Punchers Chance” lives on.
Confidence is high again after stopping Latvian Deniss Sirjatovs 5-20 (KO4) in his last outing and a win today over Philip Townley 1-6 will leave JJ perched nicely to pounce on an Irish title when the opportunity arises. John Joe’s preparation for this fight has taken place in Belfast where he has been chief sparring partner for Brian McGee 34-3 (KO24) who fights the unbeaten Canadian based Romanian Lucian Bute 27-0 (KO22) on the 19th of March for the World IBF Supper Middleweight Title, the same night fellow Irishman Willie Casey 11-0 (KO7) clashes with former amateur superstar Guillermo Rigondeaux 7-0 (KO5) here at Citywest in the adjacent Convention Centre, for the WBA World Super Bantamweight strap.
The other half of this double act is younger brother Paddy who is actually the youngest professional antagonist our great country has to offer. Having won a bag full of national titles since the age of eleven he made the switch to the pro ranks the same time as his older brother. At just nineteen the Mullingar southpaw partakes in his fifth professional tussle today against Hungarian Titusz Szabo 3-41 (KO3). In only his third scrap Paddy had a convincing win over Belfast’s Ciaran Healy 12-16 (KO3), who is currently the proprietor of the Irish Light Heavyweight strap following his recent demolition of Dolphil fighter John Waldron 5-4 (KO2). A good performance today could see Paddy earmarked for a special ops mission to return the Irish Light Heavyweight title to its former Dolphil dwelling. An Irish title clash with gatekeeper Healy would surely meet the “entertainment” criteria for an undercard slot when Dolphil return here in under two month’s time.
In Paddy and John Joe McDonagh, Dolphil Promotions have secured themselves two genuine future prospects. Promoted by Dolphil and managed by their life long trainer Tom Ward, these “pair of aces” both enjoy the natural ability and platform to make a real impact within Irish boxing. With Irelands continued “sweet science” resurgence there has never been a better time for Irelands boxing aficionado to witness the emergence of a new wave of prize-fighters. While some of you in attendance here tonight might not have been attentive to the calibre of the McDonagh brothers, mark my words you will be hearing a lot more from these boys over the coming years.
