Danny McDermott added to October 10 MSG fight card
Lightweight Danny "Little Mac" McDermott (8-1-1) has been added to the "Island Warriors: Latin Fury 12" undercard at the WaMu theater in Madison Square Garden on October 10.
DECLAN O'KELLY
McDermott joins middleweight John Duddy (26-1) on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Rogers Mtagwa WBO super bantamweight title fight, and the two will make sure there is some Irish madness to go with that Latin Fury on the Top Rank promotion.
McDermott will fight Hector Marengo (5-0-3), an unbeaten 26-year-old Puerto Rican who has drawn his last three fights, and the 30-year-old Jersey City native sounds like he has got his Irish up for this one already.
"I know this kid is trying to rebound off of his draws but his '0' is going to go. I'm going to make a statement by beating him up bad. I'm going to butcher this boy," said McDermott, whose grandparents come from Mayo and Donegal. "I'm in killer mentality right now. In my eyes this kid is trying to hurt my son and family. Everything I've worked so hard for he's trying to take away from me. He's going to pay with his life."
McDermott was last in action on May 7 when he had an impressive second round knockout win over then 9-1 Italian Floriano Pagliara. "Little Mac" has fought in the Garden main arena once before, when he beat Alex Matos by unanimous decision on June 11, 2005 on the Miguel Cotto/Mohamad Abdeluev undercard in his second bout as a professional. Ironically, John Duddy was also in action that night when he beat Patrick Thompson, so the omens are sound for a good night for the Irish.
"I'm very happy to be back in Madison Square Garden," added the fighter, who is trained by Mike Skowronski at the Passaic PAL. "I was very upset that I had to pull out of my last fight in July when my Uncle Larry Antionetti and close friend Arturo Gatti passed away. My mind is clear now, and I'm a man on a mission. I'm dedicating this fight to both of them. I'm in great shape already. We can do this fight tomorrow."
The fight is scheduled for six rounds and will give McDermott a good chance to impress against an unbeaten fighter.
In related news, middleweight John Duddy is back in the City since last week and training hard for his date with Michi Munoz (21-3) on the same card in the WaMu Theater. Duddy is reunited with trainer Harry Keitt and the two are working in Gleason's Gym ahead of the Derry Destroyer's first fight since his defeat to Billy Lyell on Aril 24. The 30-year-old could head to the Poconos later in the week to continue his preparations. For tickets to see Duddy in action, contact Barney on 917 559 8467.
Meanwhile, light welterweight Danny O'Connor (8-0) is in action Wednesday night in Manchester, NH, when he takes on Patrick Cape (6-7) in a fight scheduled for six rounds.
Finally, Oisin Fagan is slated to fight on undercard of Bernard Dunne's first world title defense against Poonsawat Kratingdaenggym at the O2 Arena in Dublin. Though no opponent has been confirmed, it is likely that the former Oklahoma-based PE teacher will fight either Valentins Morozovs (4-0-1) or Juris Ivanovs (6-19) in a context scheduled for six rounds. Also in the undercard are featherweight Patrick Hyland (17-0) heavyweight Tyson Fury (8-0) and all-Irish showdown between light heavyweights Jamie Power (6-0) and Michael Sweeney (7-0).