Light heavyweight Seanie Monaghan (20-0, 13 KOs) defeated Matt Vanda (45-16, 25 KOs) by TKO at the Theater in Madison Square Garden on Saturday night after a torn bicep sustained by Vanda in the first round rendered him unable to continue.
Monaghan dropped to his knees and beat the canvas in frustration after referee Earl Brown called a halt to proceedings following a consultation between the ringside doctor and the fighter.
The fight itself provided some decent action. Vanda started brightly and was successful with a few overhand rights and body shots, but once Monaghan found his rhythm, he started to connect with body shots of his own, which slowed Vanda down and caused him to breathe heavily.
At one point in the action Monaghan was in the neutral corner and Vanda threw a left hook. He immediately recoiled and started to shake his left arm.
In the next exchange the Minnesotan winced in pain and called referee Earl Brown for a break. Brown took Vanda over to his team’s corner to assess the damage with the ringside doctor, and the fight was stopped with 2:51 gone in the round.
“It was not the fight we wanted, but I think it was going my way. A win is a win and we move on,” Monaghan told the Irish Voice on Monday.
“The difference in strength was enormous. My first jab knocked him half way across the ring. He was a game guy, but I was sticking to my game plan and then the freak accident happened.
“He threw a sloppy hook and I blocked it, and I think I must have done so before he expected the impact. It was a freak accident.”
Monaghan felt he was robbed of the opportunity to make a statement against a man who had gone the distance with some very good fighters, but he is concentrating on taking some positives out of the night.
“Top Rank was happy with the crowd I brought, and they knew what way the fight was going,” added Monaghan, who went on to say he might fight again in March/April and will more than likely feature on the undercard if Miguel Cotto fights in June.
In other news, 2012 Olympic silver medalist John Joe Nevin will fight at the House of Blues in Boston on the undercard of the Danny O’Connor/Vivian Harris fight on St. Patrick’s Day.
Nevin signed a deal with manager Tom Moran in the fall and is based for training in Philadelphia.
“John Joe will make his American debut on a March 17 St. Patrick’s show in Boston at the House of Blues on a show promoted by Dropkick Murphys’ leader Ken Casey and Golden Boy,” confirmed Moran on Monday via e-mail.
“We’re still working on a possible European fight in February. John Joe will be trained by his longtime amateur coach Brian McKeown.”
Moran also told the Irish Voice that he has signed another Irish boxer to the GreenBlood stable. Heavyweight Tommy McCarthy will join Nevin, Anthony Cacace, Tyrone McKenna and Ray Ginley in Philadelphia, and Moran is trying to get him his first fight in the paid ranks in March.
Another Irishman confirmed for the House of Blues card in Boston on St. Patrick’s Day is lightweight Jamie Kavanagh (15-1-1, 7Os). The 23-year-old lost for the first time in his professional career in his last outing in December, and this fight will be the first step in the rebuilding process after that setback.
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