How Pro-Boxer Seanie Monaghan's 'Passion For Fighting' Led Him From The Streets To The Ring
NEW YORK (1010 WINS) – Pro-boxer Seanie Monaghan's "passion for fighting" has led him from the streets to the ring.
Now, he's gearing up to go head-to-head with his former friend Marcus Browne at the Nassau Coliseum in what will be the arena's first fight in more than 30 years. To give you some perspective, the last boxer to grace the ring there was Mike Tyson (pre-ear bite and face tattoo).
As a top-ranked boxer and undefeated fighter, Monaghan tells 1010 WINS Marc Ernay that losing isn't an option.
"This fight is just extremely important going forward for my career, because I'm going to get a lot of credibility beating a guy like Marcus," he says. "It has to be done. I have no other option. I got kids to feed."
He also opens up about his past as a "bricklayer slash troublemaker."
"I always had a passion for fighting. I got to the point where I got myself kind of jammed up. I got arrested for assault and I was looking at doing some jail time," he explains. "I said, 'I've got to make a move, I've got to do something with my life.'"
"My friend said, 'listen man, you've got to really try boxing.' He goes, 'I think you've really got a talent,'" he continues. "So I had my first amateur fight, which I won. And then my friend, Bobby, who brought me to the gym, got murdered right after that."
Monaghan says he got Bobby's name tattooed on his chest and he gives it a pound before each fight, "so he's in the ring with me."
His family, however, won't be in the ring with him. He says is wife usually doesn't watch and his kids don't know much about his career.
"I don't want them interested in boxing. I really don't want them doing it," he says.
Monaghan is well aware of the risks – and the rewards.
"Now, instead of fighting for a world title, I'm taking a very dangerous fight against a young, hungry, undefeated guy," he says. "I'm risking everything. So this is do or die for me."
The two will square off Saturday night.