In his 12 years States-side, Timmy Egan has played Gaelic football for O’Donovan Rossa, one of the biggest GAA clubs around, and soccer for the New York Shamrocks, one of America’s most storied amateur sides. But it’s in a third sport that the Dundalk transplant expects to reach his personal athletic pinnacle on Thursday of next week, April 10.
That’s when the 30-year-old Egan, in just his ninth amateur fight, competes for the MSG Boxing’s Ring Masters 165-pound novice title at Madison Square Garden. He meets Yonali Sanchez of Mendez BC in the final.
It will be third year running that an Irish fighter will be bidding for the Ring Masters middleweight novice championship. Sean O’Bradaigh won it in 2023 while Hugh McNulty was the losing finalist last year.
Egan, a 5-feet-11 southpaw, who made his amateur debut in last year’s Ring Masters aged 29, fancies his chances.
Timmy Egan.
“I’ve seen him fight twice,” he said of Sanchez. “He’s good -- he's a good boxer, but oh yeah, I fancy my chances, oh yeah! I feel I'm more comfortable going into this [fight] than I was going into the last one. I feel a lot more relaxed and stuff.
“I’ve always wanted to fight in Madison Square Garden, you know. Now I'm gonna get to do it in front of like a lot of my friends and family.”
Representing Roscommon native Donal Ward’s BUA Boxing Gym based in Astoria, Queens, Egan defeated four opponents in five weeks to advance to the final in the highly competitive division that had 31 entrants.
His run began with a win over Jeffrey Gelin in the Round of 16. That put Egan in the quarterfinals against Cedric Lacombe. Another victory there meant a semi-final showdown with Felix Munoz who was similarly outpointed, earning Egan a date with Sanchez in the final.
It’s been a remarkable performance for the late bloomer who lost his first fight in the 2024 Ring Masters.
“He entered the tournament last year with probably not enough preparation,” Donal Ward, who’s training Egan, this time, said. “[But] he's really worked hard this time.”
Ward was a Ring Masters 165-pound Elite finalist himself back in 2019. He had more than 150 amateur bouts under his belt in Ireland and the U.S. and is the proprietor of the BUA Boxing Gym in Astoria.
DONOVAN REMATCH
The International Boxing Federation [IBF] has granted the appeal filed by Team Donovan regarding the controversial disqualification of Paddy “The Real Deal” Donovan in the eighth round of his IBF world welterweight title eliminator against Lewis Crocker at the SSE Arena in Belfast on March 1.
Donovan appealed to prevent Crocker from fighting for the IBF belt and ordering an immediate rematch between the two boxers as another title eliminator. Crocker [21-0, 11 KOs] is ranked #1 at welterweight by the IBF. Donovan [14-1, 11 KOs] is #3.
“I am very happy that the IBF agreed with my arguments and evidence, they made the right decision under the rules,” said New York-based attorney Keith Sullivan, who co-manages Donovan along with trainer Andy Lee.
“The rematch will be even bigger than the first fight. The crowd and fans around the globe absolutely loved it; the atmosphere in the arena was electric. It was a great promotion put on by Matchroom and it is unfortunate it ended as it did, but now Paddy will set the record straight and continue his quest for a world title,” Sullivan added.
Donovan was comfortably ahead on points after seven rounds when he dropped Crocker with a right hook in the eighth stanza. Moments later, the Limerick fighter was shockingly disqualified by referee Marcus McDonnell for hitting Crocker, who was trapped on the ropes, a fraction of a second after the bell sounded to end the round. Donovan threw the unintentionally late punch because he was unable to hear the bell above the 8,000 raucous fans screaming at what appeared to be a major victory for him.
“I am very proud of the support Keith and Andy provided to me during the [appeal] process,” said Donovan. “I have a great team around me. I am pleased with the outcome of the appeal. I am eager to get back in the ring to showcase my boxing abilities once again and continue on the path to a world title. The world saw what happened on March 1. We look forward to setting the record straight.”
