Headline NewsNewsPro News

Nice Guys won’t finish last – Hennessy claims McKenna and McGinty are sinister in the ring gentlemen out of it

Mick Hennessy is adamant it won’t be a case of nice guys finish last when it comes to Stevie McKenna [7(7)-0] and Brett McGinty [1(0)-0].

The Channel 5 aligned promoter signed both fighters to long term promotional agreements at the tail end of last year and is confident he has two future world champions on his hands.

The man, who guided Tyson Fury to his first world title win, believes both are the full package with the potential to be stars in and out of the ring.

The aggressive nature of both the Monaghan and Donegal punchers are both fan and TV friendly he told Irish press last week.

The Hennessy Promotions boss also believes both have likable personalities that will see people warm to them. The experienced operator suggests the perfect mixture means neither will have to resort to gimmicks or trash talking to sell fight.

“They are TV fighters. First and foremost, one of the biggest things is they both let their fighting do the talking.

“When fighters put it all on the line in the ring and they give it everything, and they leave it all in the ring, there’s no better marketing tool than that.

“When you look at Brett’s trainer Ricky, he was a really nice guy out of the ring. He weren’t the sort to be slagging people off, getting into altercations and stuff. He was a nice guy with a big following.

“Both fighters — Stevie and Brett — are very, very good communicators. That was one of the things, when I first started speaking to the guys, was seeing how well they spoke, how they communicated, how they came across.

“They’re very, very likeable people. And they’ve got that sinister fighting style underneath it, which I think is a very powerful combination.”

The Sheer Sports managed and Hennessy promoted duo, will next appear in England on March 27 on a TV card.

An Irish fight night and fighting out of home is on the agenda, but not the immediate one.

The plan for now is to keep busy and to secure some solid learning fights.

“They are both going to be fighting regularly.

“For March 27, the date is set, we’re looking at finalising a venue whereby whatever happens going forward with the pandemic, that if we are allowed to have a crowd in now, we will be geared up for it.

“If we’re not allowed to have a crowd in there, we’ll be still able to carry out the same studio format. So we’re just finalising a venue that gives us that option for March 27.

“On the sort of opponent, I think Brett, Ricky and Sheer Sports (who manage the McKenna brothers and McGinty) would probably like Brett to stay at six rounds because he’s got a big engine and a great pro style.

“But definitely, I’m looking at some learning fights for him where he can show the immense talent that he’s got.”

Jonny Stapleton

Irish-boxing.com contributor for 15 years and editor for the past decade. Have been covering boxing for over 16 years and writing about sports for a living for over 20 years. Former Assistant Sports editor for the Gazette News Paper Group and former Tallaght Voice Sports Editor. Have had work published in publications around the world when working as a freelance journalist. Also co-founder of Junior Sports Media and Leinster Rugby PRO of the Year winner. email: editoririshboxing@gmail.com

x