Peter McDonagh

Infobox_Boxer


name=Peter McDonagh
realname=Peter McDonagh
nickname=
weight=Lightweight
nationality= |nationality= flagicon|Ireland Irish
birth_date=Birth date and age|1977|12|22|mf=y
birth_place=Galway, Ireland
home=Bermondsey, England
style=unknown
total=23
wins=11
KO=2
losses=12
draws=0
no contests=0|

Peter McDonagh in Galway, Ireland is a professional boxer. [cite web | author=Boxrec | title="Peter McDonagh" | work=Boxrec Fighter Page | url=http://www.boxrec.com/boxer_display.php?boxer_id=107478 | accessdate=13 March | accessyear=2007] He usually fights at lightweight or the divisions either side.

First professional fight

McDonagh boxed as an amateur before turning professional in March 2002, winning his first fight at the Elephant & Castle Centre in the London Borough of Southwark in which McDonagh beat Birmingham's Arv Mittoo on an undercard that included Tony Booth.

Fighting in England

Although a native Galwegian, McDonagh, lives and fights out of a boxing gym in London. In March 2004, McDonagh won the British (Southern Area) Lightweight Title and in May 2005 he fought Robbie Murray for the Irish Light Welterweight Title holder which he lost on points over 10 rounds at the National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland.

Controversial Irish title fight against Michael Gomez

Pre-fight shenanigans

McDonagh fought English based Irish traveller Michael Gomez on 28 January 2006 for the Irish lightweight title on the undercard of a Bernard Dunne fight at the National Stadium, Dublin, Ireland.

Gomez had been out of the ring for almost a year and was due to fight Scottish Willie Limond for the WBU lightweight title but turned down that opportunity for a chance to fight for an Irish title.

After the fight was signed Gomez stated "I just can’t wait to get my hands on that Irish title because I’ve been desperate to fight in Ireland for years". [cite web | author= | title="Bernard Dunne Back In Action On Jan 28 In Dublin!" | work=Eastside Boxing| url=http://www.eastsideboxing.com/news.php?p=5585&more=1| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author=Michael Foley | title="Gomez controversy a body blow to boxing" | work=The Sunday Times| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article726946.ece| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007]

Leading up to the fight McDonagh was seeing the famous paranormalist Uri Geller as mind coach to help him mentally prepared for the fight and Geller travelled with him to Dublin for the fight. Gomez commented that ""I’m not sure Uri Geller will be of much use to him though because there won’t be any spoon’s in that ring for him to bend. The only thing I plan on bending is some of McDonagh’s ribs with my body punches". [cite web | author= | title="Geller preparing McDonagh for Gomez" | work=Doghouse Boxing| url=http://www.doghouseboxing.com/Chee/Chee011906.htm| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007]

Events of the fight

The first four rounds were relatively close with Gomez leading according to pundits but the fight ended in the fifth round in bizarre circumstances when for no apparent reason Gomez stopped fighting and failed to defend himself, he then received a number of unanswered punches from McDonagh before being floored. Gomez rose from the canvas immediately but appeared to ignore the referee and walk towards his corner while the referee continued with his count, and then left the ring as the referee was waving the fight off. The RTÉ commentator Steve Collins commented that "I smell a rat, something's not right here". [cite web | author= | title="Gomez trainer slams fixing slur" | work=BBC| url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/boxing/4666246.stm| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author=Michael Foley | title="Gomez controversy a body blow to boxing" | work=The Sunday Times| url=http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/article726946.ece| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007] [cite web | author=Ger Golroy | title="The breaking of a boxer" | work=Village.ie| url=http://www.village.ie/Sports/Athletics/The_breaking_of_a_boxer/| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007]

Purses withheld by BUI

The Boxing Union of Ireland (BUI) suspended both fighters purses, and investigated reports of unusually beating patterns and large sums of money being placed on McDonagh to win inside the distance and more specifically in the fifth round after on McDonagh to win the fight in the fifth-round had been cut from 125-1 to 18-1 by the afternoon of the bout.

Following an investigation, the BUI released the purses to each of the fighters, stating "Michael Gomez and Peter McDonagh confirmed that neither they, their families, nor any person in their camp, as far as they were aware, betted on the fight", but expressing disappointment that the bookmaker Boylesports, who had suspended wagering on the bout due to the unusual betting patterns, had chosen not to reply to the investigators' queries. [cite web | author= | title="Union awards purses to McDonagh and Gomez " | work=The Irish Examiner| url=http://archives.tcm.ie/breakingnews/2006/02/17/story245223.asp| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007]

Gomez later explained the loss by saying that "it was all very simple, I just came to a decision in there that I need to retire from boxing full stop". [cite web | author=Tomas Rohan | title="Gomez - I'm happy with my decision" | work=irish-boxing.com |url=http://www.irish-boxing.com/january06/31_January_2006_Gomez.htm| accessdate=13 July | accessyear=2007]

Gomez further indicated that he planned to pursue a career in body building. McDonagh, meanwhile, claimed that he had won because Uri Geller had helped him mentally prepare for the fight.

Irish ranking

In 2005, McDonagh was ranked 4th by the Boxing Union of Ireland in the light welterweight division. He is currently ranked second in [http://www.irish-boxing.com/champions.htm# irish-boxing.com's rankings of lightweights] after moving down a division, and is ranked number 2 in the current Boxing Union of Ireland lists. [cite web | author=Tomas Rohan | title="Irish Champions" | work=Irish Boxing | url=http://www.irish-boxing.com/champions.htm# | accessdate=13 March | accessyear=2007]

References

External links

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