Eamonn Magee

Infobox_Boxer


name=Eamonn Magee
realname=Eamonn Magee
nickname=The Terminator
weight=Welterweight
nationality= Irish
birth_date=Birth date and age|1971|7|13|df=y
birth_place=Belfast, Northern Ireland
home=Belfast
style=Southpaw
total=33
wins=27
KO=17
losses=6
draws=0
no contests=0|

Eamonn Magee aka "The Terminator" (born 13 July, 1971 in Belfast, Northern Ireland) is a professional boxer.cite web | author=Boxrec | title="Eamonn Magee" | work=Boxrec Fighter Page | url=http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=014944 | accessdate=13 October | accessyear=2006] Magee now fights at welterweight but has also fought as a light welterweight for the majority of his professional career.

Magee is a veteran of the British and Irish professional fight scene and he fights out of the Breen Gym in Belfast. Magee is a former Commonwealth Light Welterweight Title, Irish Light Welterweight Title and WBU Welterweight Title holder.

Troubled background

Magee grew up in the nationalist Ardoyne area of Belfast and was in and out of trouble as a youth. Magee came from a boxing obsessed family, at the age of twelve, Magee's mother enrolled a him in the local boxing club. Magee stated that for his mother "boxing was as important as school". Magee's three older brothers were also boxers with two of them, Terry and Noel, having careers as professional boxers. His brother Noel was also a Commonwealth title champion.

In 1989, Magee was involved in a fight outside a restaurant and sustained a deep wound to his neck from which he almost died. In 1992, he was shot in the leg by the Provisional Irish Republican Army in a punishment attack. [cite web | author=The Observer | title="Streetfighting man" | work=Sports Monthly | url=http://observer.guardian.co.uk/osm/story/0,6903,1250634,00.html | accessdate=4 July | accessyear=2004] In 1994, Magee (who is a supporter Celtic football club) was charged with affray after getting into a barroom brawl with a group of Rangers fans in a Belfast City Centre pub. In February 2004, Magee was attacked in the Blacks Road area of Belfast. He was pulled from his car and beaten with a baseball bat, he had his leg broken and knee fractured.British Boxing News] [cite web | author= | title="Magee says career is over" | work=BBC News| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/3525665.stm| accessdate=4 July | accessyear=2004]

Amateur Record

The southpaw boxed for Ireland as an amateur and, like his brother Noel, won a number of Irish national titles and won a silver medal at the World Junior Championships at San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1989. In 1991, Magee won the Irish National Senior light welterweight title. IABA] [cite web | author=IABA | title="World Junior Championships" | work=IABA | url=http://www.iaba.ie/boxing/Main/Olympics-performances.htm | accessdate=13 October | accessyear=2006 ] [cite web | author=| title="Biography of Eamonn Magee" | work=Showtime | url=http://216.239.59.104/search?q=cache:-FkVzEaT7VMJ:www.sho.com/site/boxing/profile.do%3Ffighter%3D2358%26event%3D33%26fight%3D2421+%22eamonn+Magee%22+amateur&hl=en&ct=clnk&cd=30&gl=uk | accessdate=13 October | accessyear=2006 ]

Barcelona Olympics nomination controversy

Because of his Irish title win, Magee should have automatically been nominated as the Irish entrant for the qualification tournament for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics however, a number of members from the Ulster Boxing Council abstained from voting for his nomination and this led to the Irish (IABA) selection team requesting that Magee fight a preliminary fight against Corkman Billy Walsh, a boxer whom he had already beaten to win the Irish title. In protest, Magee then turned down the chance to box off for the place at the Barcelona Olympics as he felt he was the automatic choice. [ cite web | author=Cormac Campbell | title="Eamonn Magee/John Breen Interview" | work=IrishBoxing.com | url=http://www.irish-boxing.com/may03/28_May_2003_Eamonn_Magee_Interview.htm| accessdate=13 May | accessyear=2007 ]

A disillusioned Magee's outlook on boxing was soured by this experience and he then took a sabbatical from the sport.cite web | author=| title="Eamonn Magee: "How can a twenty three-year-old kid hurt me?"" | work=Irishboxing.com | url=http://www.irish-boxing.com/MageeVHatton_interview.htm| accessdate=30 June | accessyear=2007]

Professional career

Debut

Magee turned professional in November 1995, winning his first fight at the Point Depot, in which he knocked out Hull based Liverpudlian Pete Roberts on a card that included Steve Collins and a debut fight for Dubliner Jim Rock.

Early fights

Magee's first twelve fights took place in a variety of locations such as the Republic of Ireland, Northern Ireland, U.S. and England and against a variety of opposition including journeymen such as Steve McGovern, Kevin McKillan and Karl Taylor as well as future NABF Welter and Light Middleweight title holder Teddy Reid. The Reid fight which took place at The Roxy, Boston, USA, was Magee's only loss on his early record which tallied to 11 win, 9 within the distance and 1 loss.

Paul Burke Commonwealth title fights

Magee's chance to fight for his first title belt took place in 30 November 1998 when he challenged challenged experienced Preston based fighter Paul Burke for his Commonwealth Light Welterweight Title in Manchester, England on the "Mayhem in Manchester" bill which included Howard Eastman, Steve Foster and Clinton Woods.

Before the fight Magee had stated that Burke was "old, slow journeyman. Paul is the sort who hangs in and takes far more punishment than he should. I'll do him a favour and get it over fast". [ cite web | author=Bill Clark | title="Too Old, Slow And Easily Punished" | work=Sunday Mirror | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_19981129/ai_n14482952| accessdate=13 May | accessyear=2007 ]

The fight went the twelve round distance and Burke beat Magee on a controversial points decision. Magee thought he had been let down badly by the British officials on the night and Chris Eubank also made his protest known. A journalist who was at ringside stated that it was one of the "most shocking decisions in British boxing history". [cite web | author=Alex McGreey | title="Magee's trainer: Hatton's fought no one" | work=IrishBoxing.com | url=http://www.irish-boxing.com/MageeVHatton.htm| accessdate=13 May | accessyear=2007 ] [ cite web | author=Cormac Campbell | title="Eamonn Magee/John Breen Interview" | work=IrishBoxing.com | url=http://www.irish-boxing.com/may03/28_May_2003_Eamonn_Magee_Interview.htm| accessdate=13 May | accessyear=2007 ] [ cite web | author= | title="Magee furious over referee" | work=BBC News | url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/2014792.stm| accessdate=13 May | accessyear=2007 ]

Within twelve months Magee had won two fights both by third round stoppages including winning the Irish Light Welterweight Title both the arranged rematch with Burke which was set for the 12 September 1999 at the York Hall, Bethnal Green in London again for the Commonwealth Light Welterweight Title.

Magee's mind was on revenge and he floored the champion three times in the sixth round before star rated referee Dave Parris stopped the fight with Burke in no condition to continue. [ cite web | author=Alex McGreevy | title="Magee's revenge is sweet" | work=The Mirror | url=http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1-60414951.html| accessdate=13 May | accessyear=2007 ]

Magee's sights were then set on a fight with Manchester's Ricky Hatton and continued his winning streak with a further ten straight wins, seven inside the distance, including wins over Kenya's Joseph Miyumo, Shea Neary and Jonathan Thaxton to line up a super-fight with Hatton.

Hatton fight

Magee's highest profile fight was against Ricky Hatton for the WBU Light Welterweight Title which took place at the Manchester Evening News Arena in 1 June 2002 and was billed as "Anarchy in the UK" and was a 20,000 ticket sell out. [cite web | author=| title="Hatton sets Magee date" | work=Manchester Evening News| url=http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/sport/s/81/81314_hatton_sets_magee_date.html| accessdate=30 May| accessyear=2007] [ cite web | author=Bill Clark | title="MAGEE'S PLANNING TO TAKE THE RICKY" | work=Sunday Mirror | url=http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qn4161/is_20020519/ai_n12843254| accessdate=13 May | accessyear=2007 ]

The fight was one of the most eagerly awaited fights in British boxing for many years and there had been doubts that the fight would ever take place due to the MEN being booked and then an injury to Hatton's knuckle. Also Magee had trouble leading up to the fight when the Panamanian sparring partners that Magee had paid for were deported from Ireland after they arrived at Dublin Airport [cite web | author=| title="Magee clash put on hold" | work=Manchester Evening News| url=http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/sport/s/81/81236_magee_clash_put_on_hold.html| accessdate=30 May| accessyear=2007] [cite web | author=| title="Hatton is on the warpath" | work=Manchester Evening News| url=http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/sport/s/81/81597_hatton_is_on_the_warpath.html| accessdate=30 May| accessyear=2007] [cite web | author=| title="Home alone Hatton ready to rumble" | work=Manchester Evening News| url=http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/sport/s/81/81632_home_alone_hatton_ready_to_rumble.html| accessdate=30 May| accessyear=2007]

In what Hatton's trainer Billy Graham called Hatton's toughest fight, Magee knocked Hatton down for the first time in his career after only one minute of the fight in round one. Magee against pressurised Hatton in the second round and again Hatton looked shakey and in trouble. However, Hatton battled back keeping Magee on the ropes for much of the remainder of the fight. Magee eventually lost this keenly contested fight on points over 12 rounds. [cite web | author=| title="Ricky grinds out win number 29" | work=Manchester Evening News| url=http://www.tamesideadvertiser.co.uk/sport/s/81/81638_ricky_grinds_out_win_number_29.html| accessdate=30 May| accessyear=2007]

His most recent fight took place 11 May 2007 and was a unanimous points loss to Kevin Anderson for the British welterweight title. [cite web | author=Ian McNeilly | title="Eamonn Magee retires" | work=British Boxing News | url=http://www.britishboxing.net/news_623-Eamonn-Magee-retires.html | accessdate=3 May| accessyear=2004]

References

External links

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