[caption id="attachment_69368" align="aligncenter" width="600" caption="Sean Monaghan with his manager P.J. Kavanagh."]
Ever improving fan favorite Seanie Monaghan dropped Billy Bailey late in the second round en route to a bruising but unanimous eight-round points win at the Roseland Ballroom in Manhattan last Saturday.
And although cut below the left eye by a head butt, the result preserved the light heavyweight prospect's berth on DiBella Entertainment's St. Patrick's Day bash at Madison Square Garden.
"It's more of a scratch than anything," Monaghan commented on his injury. "The doctor looked at it and said I don't need to worry about and don't even need stitches."
That's good news for his legion of fans -- most out of Long Island -- who packed the Roseland Ballroom and will likely descend on the Theatre at the Garden in droves March 17 for his next fight.
In Bailey, a relentless now 11-14 [4 KOs] Californian, Monaghan faced his toughest foe in a 19-month pro career during which he's strung together a 12-0 [8 KOs] record. Bailey arrived in New York with a reputation for going the distance but Monaghan decked him with a right hook in the second stanza.
Bailey beat the count and was only saved from a certain knockout by the bell as Monaghan opened up when the fight continued.
At the end of the round, Monaghan went back to his corner with cut from a butt. However, with Big George Mitchell, cutman to local Irish fighters, on call, it was never a factor in the bout.
Bailey tried to target the cut in the third but was fended off by Monaghan's superior skills. The Irish-American would dominate the rest of the fight, landing the cleaner and hard punchers against an opponent that refused to take a backward step.
He rocked Bailey with a left hook in the fifth round and when his follow up attack failed to finish off the Californian, went back to boxing.
Monaghan was an easy winner in a competitive match, sweeping all three cards 79-72 and 80-71 [twice].
"Aside from the head butts, I boxed him easily," he said. "I got a cut and a black eye from the head butts."
HITMAN STYLE
Dublin transplant Thomas Hardwick was also an easy winner in his four-round heavyweight contest with Richard Mason and is now set for the St. Patrick's Day card.
Hardwick hurt and bloodied the physically impressive Mason in the second stanza but backed off. There were no knockdowns.
Hardwick, who fights out of Yonkers, finished the stronger of the two and won all four rounds on all the cards. He upped his record to 4-0 [2 KOs] while Mason remains winless [0-4].
MAC DRAW
Danny McDermott, the other Irishman on the Roseland card, was adjudged to have boxed Colorado junior welterweight Terry Buterbaugh to a majority draw after six rounds.
McDermott blew hot and cold, rallying impressively in the third and sixth rounds, and fighting conservatively in the other stanzas.
The New Jersey resident is now 8-3-2 [3 KOs] and is headed for Madison Square Garden as well on St. Patrick's Day.
ROONEY ADDITION
Kevin Rooney, Jr., is scheduled to fight 1-1 Stanley Harvey in Albany February 4 ahead of an appearance on the St. Patrick's Day show.
The son of renowned trainer Kevin Rooney is a 2-1 light middleweight who also doubles as head of communications for DiBella Entertainment.
