When a lucky young fighter is told he’s making his pro debut at Madison Square Garden — The Mecca — there is usually a scream and a leap for joy.
For 22-year-old Manhattanite Sean O’Bradaigh, low key would be the proper phrase because, frankly, been there done that.
“I’ve already fought in the Garden twice, in The Theater,” says O’Bradaigh. “The idea of fighting in the Garden has been a little diluted for me, unfortunately, but obviously as a professional, it’s a completely different deal.”
Sunday night, at The Theater in MSG, the biggest Irish card in New York City history — seven bouts featuring fighters from Ireland or Irish descent — will be streamed globally on UFC Fight Pass beginning at 6 p.m.
Headlining the card is Cork, Ireland’s undefeated super welterweight Callum Walsh (12-0; 10 KOs), trained by Hall of Famer Freddie Roach, defending his WBC Continental Americas title against Dean Sutherland (19-1; 7 KOs) from Aberdeen, Scotland in a 10 rounder.
Now don’t get O’Bradaigh wrong, the blood in his veins will be racing on the night before St. Patrick’s Day as he faces Jose Manuel Florentine from Boston (also making his pro debut) in the scheduled four round light heavyweight contest.
You can watch O’Bradaigh as his bout on the UFC Fight Pass YouTube Channel around 4 p.m. is free.
“There’s going to be twice as many people then when I fought there in the New York Golden Gloves [now called the Ring Masters],” says the West Village resident. He captured the 165-pound division championship in 2023. As an amateur he was rated as high as eighth and competed in the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
(Photo courtesy of USA Boxing)
Sean O’Bradaigh
O’Bradaigh’s story is different than most boxers. He is already a college graduate. He finished his bachelor’s degree in real estate finance last December from NYU. Prior to that, he received his early schooling for at Lycée Francais De New York on Manhattan’s Upper East Side. And, yes, he’s fluent in French.
He’ll be receiving his diploma with the rest of his class in May, but with time on his hands, finance can wait as boxing is the goal right now.
The 6-1 fighter is not your typical young pugilist.
A member of the New York Athletic Club, where he trains twice a day, six times a week under the tutelage of trainer Richard Stevenson, he sounds like a well-schooled fighter describing his ring style.
“I’ve fought on the back foot a little more,” O’Bradaigh explains. “I like to counterpunch. I still come forward from time to time, but I’m definitely not a brawler. I don’t take a punch to give two. I like to make the person miss every punch.
“I use a stiff jab to keep my opponent away. I counter off the jab a lot with head movement, a lot of foot movement, lateral movement, angles, things like that.”
If O’Bradaigh sounds like an educated student of the sweet science it’s because he learns by watching some of the all-time best fighters.
“My two favorite boxers of all time would be Roy Jones Jr. and Pernell Whitaker,” he says. “Just their styles. Roy Jones had this thing where he would put his hands down. He’s unbelievably fast, the talent, the movement, the balance, the ability and everything together was just a beautiful thing to watch.
“Pernell’s defense was unbelievable. The way he moves his feet, the way he’s able to stay balanced in every single movement and make people miss. Anyone who watches videos of Pernell will understand why he’s entertaining.”
O’Bradaigh started training when he was 13, long after Jones and Whitaker had retired, but it was a present day fighter that got him hooked.
“My dad’s friend came over from Ireland and stayed with us and said you guys have to watch this guy fighting tonight,” recalls O’Bradaigh, who almost missed his chance to witness someone special. “I fell asleep on the couch, and they woke me up at about midnight and it was Conor McGregor fighting in the UFC before he was a champ [in 2015].
“I saw him walk out in a strut. Then they went to touch gloves with this guy Dennis Siver. He didn’t want to touch gloves. So, McGregor put up two middle fingers.
“Then within a minute after that, he knocked out Siver and did that strut again. I was like, that’s the coolest thing I’ve ever seen. I want to learn how to do that.”
He started training in an MMA gym, but his coach said forget it.
“My boxing coach was like screw this MMA s–t. You’re good, you have good hands. Let’s just go to the boxing gym,” says O’Bradaigh, his family’s first generation American, and a boxing career was born.
Even as an amateur, he’s gotten to see what big-time boxing is all about.
He just came back from Saudi Arabia where he watched Dmitry Bivol capture the undisputed light heavyweight championship from Artur Beterbiev.
The experience was strange for O’Bradaigh.
“They’re not like a normal [fight] crowd,” he says. “They didn’t cheer as much. They were more quiet. They didn’t have live events in Saudi Arabia until like 2019. No concerts, no movie theaters. Nothing like that. It’s probably the most different place I’ve ever been.”
Should be a different atmosphere in the Garden.
“I think Sunday at the Garden is going to be the opposite of that,” he says.
While his father was born in Dublin, but working in banking in New York, and his mother is from Belgium, O’Bradaigh has a solid background to fall back on regardless where boxing takes him.
“My dad always told me the most important thing to have in life is a choice,” he says. He was relaxing on a beach in Australia and got the call about the Garden fight. “I took the first flight back to New York City to go back into training.”
He’s been at it for the past six weeks and the fight card peaked his interest due to his background in finance. O’Bradaigh knows his own worth.
“This event made a lot of sense for me,” he says, “I’m Irish American from New York City. I bring a local crowd, a crowd that wouldn’t be there otherwise.”
With all his training, what does he do to relax?
“To be honest, I’m just on my phone to relax,” he says. “I’m on my phone too much. That’s the Gen Z curse. I rarely sit down and throw on a two and a half hour movie these days. We’re just lost on our phones.”
If successful in boxing, will that make him a role model?
“That’s a difficult question,” he says after a long pause. “Do I have the potential to be one? Yes. Am I one yet? Maybe for people in my inner circle. I don’t think I am for the world yet. I don’t see myself as being a celebrity yet.”
He still has fun with the idea.
“I’ve been asked for my autograph … one time,” he says with a chuckle. “Honestly, after this fight, a lot of people are going to be asking for pictures and stuff at the arena. It’s going to be interesting.”
