BOXING: '˜I'll be the Last Man Standing' - insists Sean McGlinchey

DERRY middleweight, Sean McGlinchey believes participating in the exciting '˜Last Man Standing' tournament was too good an opportunity to miss.
Sean McGlinchey is excited about fighting on the Last Man Standing tournament in Dublin next March.Sean McGlinchey is excited about fighting on the Last Man Standing tournament in Dublin next March.
Sean McGlinchey is excited about fighting on the Last Man Standing tournament in Dublin next March.

The inaugural competition, co-promoted by Red Corner Promotions and Assassin Promotions, is the first of its kind to be held in Ireland, and will see the eight Irish middleweights go toe-to-toe for the €25,000 winner’s purse.

There will be a knockout bonus of €1,000 as well as purses for runners-up (€5,000), semi finalists (€2,000), and quarter finalists (€1,000).

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However, the biggest incentive for McGlinchey was the promise of becoming mandatory challenger to ‘Cool Hand’ Luke Keeler’s Irish middleweight title!

“I’ve always said I wanted an Irish title so when I win this that puts me as mandatory and I’ll be knocking on Luke Keeler’s door looking for an Irish title shot,” said ‘Mummy’s Bhoy’.

“I will have eliminated all the other middleweights that are there. Jason Quigley is looking to fight for bigger things. Connor Coyle is going well in America. Unless Darren Cruise wants another shot then there’s nobody in my way.

“But it would be an amazing 2018 if I won the Last Man Standing and then the Irish title.

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“I’ll go and win this first and then go for the Irish title. Last Man Standing is definitely going to be a chance to make my mark in the division.”

The Prizefighter-style show at the National Stadium, Dublin on March 3rd pits eight of the best Irish prospects together and McGlinchey is expecting a tough night.

Roy Sheahan (debutante), Bernard Roe (6-0), Alfredo Meli (14-0-1), Chris Blaney (9-0), Henry Coyle (19-2), Thomas Finnegan (2-0) and Padraig McCrory (2-0) make up the eight man line-up.

It offers a timely chance of revenge for McGlinchey should he meet Chris Blaney who beat him in the Irish Senior semi-finals before he made the decision to turn to the paid ranks.

Collision Course

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And a collision with Padraig McCrory would certainly whet the appetite after the bad blood spilled over from when McGlinchey beat the Belfast man in the 2014 Commonwealth Games box-off.

“I’ve a bit of history with McCrory and Blayney. Myself and Blayney fought each other in the Irish Seniors - my last amateur competition. He beat me in the semi-finals of the seniors - a fight I thought I could’ve nicked.

“And people are talking about myself and McCrory having fought in the past but we might not even meet each other. It would be interesting if we did.

“But it’s of a very good standard. I’ll let the bookies name the favourites but I’ll be training hard to go on and win it.

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“It’s going to be a tough competition. There’s a lot of possible revenge fights. Sheahan and Blayney have fought in the past. Roe fought Sheanan as well. They all know each other inside out.

“It’ll be good for fans to watch and I’d say there’ll be some cracking fights.”

Defeated semi-finalists and quarter-finalists will be rewarded with an additional €500 for their respective amateur clubs, with the overall runner-up earning €1,000 for his grassroots facility.

The E1,000 for a stoppage and E5,000 for the quickest KO of the evening is also on the table but McGlinchey’s end goal is to become Last Man Standing.

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“There’s a lot of incentives. I want to get in and get fights and obviously the money is a big incentive as well.

“I would only have entered if we thought we could win. You could pick up a loss very easily but you’re not losing against a journeyman. These are all good quality boxers and have good styles.

“But you don’t want a loss. Everyone wants to protect their ‘0’ but you have to take risks.”

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