Former three time, two weight Southern Area Champion Peter ‘Connemara Kid’ McDonagh is quietly confident that he will add a fourth title, at a third weight, to his collection this coming Friday, when he takes on unbeaten rising star Bradley Skeete for the vacant Southern Area Welterweight crown, at the Frank Warren promoted ‘Three Lions’ show at York Hall in Bethnal Green.
McDonagh has an established Championship record going right back to the mid-noughties, having won the Southern Area Lightweight title back in 2004 with a close points victory over Jon Honney before going on to secure the Irish Lightweight Crown, with a sensational sixth round stoppage of Michael Gomez, two years later.
In 2008 McDonagh vacated the Irish crown to unsuccessfully challenge Italian Giuseppe Lauri for his European Union Light Welterweight crown, before out boxing Lee ‘Lights Out’ Purdy to secure his second Southern Area title, this time the Light Welterweight version.
The following year McDonagh unsuccessfully Lenny Daws for the vacant English Light Welterweight title, then shortly after once again facing old foe Lee Purdy, this time for the vacant Southern Area Welterweight title. This time it was Purdy that came away victorious, and at the same time preventing McDonagh from making history by becoming a three weight Champion.
in 2010 McDonagh once again stepped onto the International stage to unsuccessfully challenge France’s Yvan Mendy for the vacant World Boxing Federation Intercontinental Light Welterweight title.
It wouldn’t be until 2011 before the Connemara Kid was back in Championship action, when he unsuccessfully defended his Southern Area Light Welter strap against Darren ‘Mr R&B’ Hamilton
Later in the year Peter took part in the highly successful Prizefighter series, only to draw eventual tournament victor Yassine El Maachi in the quarterfinal.
With just the three outings so far in 2012, won one and lost two, McDonagh is clearly the underdog going into Friday’s fight. However the ever likable Irishman feels that the underdog label may be doing him a big favour, when he spoke briefly following a training session at the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym in Canning Town.
“It’s a very good fight for me, it’s gonna be a tough one, but I love ‘em tough and if I can pull it off I’ll become a three weight Southern Area Champion, which is big in itself.
I’ve had the belt at Lightweight, Light Welterweight and now get a second chance to add the Welterweight belt.
I don’t know if anyone has done that before, but it’s a big opportunity for me and I feel I’m in there with a good chance of making history.
Bradley Skeete’s a good fighter, he’s unbeaten but he’s not been there before, I have and I think that could be the difference.
I’ve had plenty of hard ten and twelve round fights in my career and I’m the upset kid you know and come Friday I’ll take Bradley to places he’s never been to before.
Training here at the TRAD TKO has been great as ever, been getting plenty of great sparring with Jimmy and Mark’s (Tibbs) boys, had some sparring with Kevin (Mitchell) as he prepares for his big fight against Ricky (Burns) the week after mine and some of their other boys as well as some sessions with Johnny’s (Eames) boys.
Here at the TRAD TKO we have just had a really successful weekend, with Charlie (Hoy), Tom (Baker), Wadi (Camacho) winning their fights, as well as Ian (Bailey) and Danny (Connor) both coming in as underdogs to capture Southern Area titles and Erick (Ochieng) retaining his English title in style.
Now I’ve just got to focus on the 14th September, if I can do a good job on Bradley Skeete then I’ll bring another title back to the gym and hopefully then I’ll get a British title fight.
I’ve been a pro for eleven years and you know, I think this is my opportunity to go for it and come the 14th September that’s just what I’m gonna do, I’m going for it.”
Peter McDonagh versus Bradley Skeete, for the vacant Southern Area Welterweight title, is the main support bout for TRAD TKO’s Billy Joe Saunders, as he defends his Commonwealth Middleweight Crown against Jarrod Fletcher, at the Frank Warren Promoted ‘Three Lions’ event at York Hall in Bethnal Green on Friday 14th September.
Supporting the two title fights are no less than four further unbeaten boxers from the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Frankie Buglioni, Gary Corcoran, Billy Morgan and Ediz Hussein, who are joined by Mitchell Smith and Steve O’Meara, all against yet to be named opponents.
Tickets, priced £40 (Standard seated) and £60 (Ringside) for the Frank Warren promoted Three Lions at York Hall on Friday the 14th of September 2012 are available on-line at www.tkoboxoffice.com or in person from the TRAD TKO Boxing Gym, Gillian House, Stephenson Street, Canning Town, London E16 4SA.
