Timmy Egan, the all-round athlete who also plays Gaelic football and soccer, bagged MSG Boxing’s Ring Masters 165-pound novice title at Madison Square Garden last Thursday with a split points decision over Yonali Sanchez.
Cheered on by his teammates from both the O’Donovan Rossa GAA club and the Cosmopolitan Soccer League’s NY Shamrocks, the Dundalk transplant put on a masterful performance to become the second Irish fighter in three years to win the middleweight championship. Sean O’Bradaigh won it in 2023 while another Irishman, Hugh McNulty, was the losing finalist last year.
Boxer Timmy Egan (left) and trainer Donal Ward at the Theater at Madison Square Garden ahead of the Ring Masters finals last week. Egan won the middleweight novice title. [Bua Boxing Gym]
“I’m proud of it,” Egan said of his title victory in just his ninth amateur bout. “I'm just ecstatic [and ] very happy.”
Trainer Donal Ward, a Roscommon native whose Astoria, Queens-based BUA Boxing Gym Egan was representing, was equally elated.
“Timmy boxed very well,” said Ward. “He’s a southpaw and he’s really got good at like controlling the distance and picking his shots. He has a counter-punching southpaw style which is very good.
“He was countering with his right hook. He was making his opponent miss and picking him off – with perfect shots, moving off and moving in and out. [Sanchez] couldn't handle him.”
To reach the final in the highly competition division that had 31 entrants, the 30-year-old Egan defeated four opponents in five weeks.
His run began with a win over Evan Bancroft in the first round. He then beat Jeffrey Gelin in the Round of 16, Cedric Lacombe in the quarterfinals and Felix Munoz in the semi-finals. On what next?
Egan said: “I'm not too sure just yet. I'm definitely gonna continue boxing.”
Ward lauded his charge for putting in a year’s hard work and said he now deserved a break. “He trained for basically a year for this, he never took a break, so, we're gonna get him to take a break now and enjoy the summer and probably aim for the Metros at the end of the year.”
The Metros are a essentially a warm-up for the Ring Masters tournament [previously the New York Golden Gloves], whose Elite title Egan is now gunning for.
“I’d like to enter the Ring Masters competition again and win the open [Elite] category and hopefully qualify for the U.S. Nationals,” he said.
Egan also mentioned boxing in Ireland with the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles in mind.
HYDE DOWN UNDER
Big punching Tommy “The Governor” Hyde [11-0, 8 KOs] needed less than a round to dispatch Tanzania’s Anuary Mlawa [8-3, 4 KOs] in their super middleweight scrap in Melbourne, Australia last Friday. The bout was scheduled for eight rounds.
“I’m happy with my performance, I landed some good shots, and I felt very strong,” said Hyde. “I’ve been working hard in the gym so, if I can get an early night, I’ll take it every time. I’m getting great sparring in the gym and that’s where I’ll do the majority of my learning.”
The Cork prospect spent three weeks Down Under preparing for the fight with Mlawa, his eighth pro fight outside Ireland.
“The last three weeks in Australia were one of the best experiences of my life and I met some great people,” said Hyde, who’s 25. “his I got a great reception on my ring walk in front of a very noisy Irish crowd and then we enjoyed celebrating at the after-party, too. I made a lot of new friends in Melbourne and I’m looking forward to coming back to fight here again.
“This year is going to be a busy year; I’m hoping to fight three more times with a step-up in each fight.”
“Tommy will fight three more times this year,” said his father/manager Gary Hyde. “His next fight will be in Boston in late June. The short-term plan is to challenge for a regional title by the end of this year, which will give Tommy a top 10 ranking, and then we keep building and learning.
“Once he is ranked in the top 10, he will be within striking distance of world title shots, and once the right opportunity arises, we will take it.”
