Hail Mary no mistake – Shane McConnell says Paul Ryan defeaters luck has run out
Fabrizio Rubino will need more than a big Hail Mary shot to have a prayer against Shane McConnell warns the Waterford fighter.
McConnell takes on the German on the JB Promotions Rise and Fall card at the Warehouse this Friday night and has no concerns he may suffer the same fate as stablemate Paul Ryan.
The Pete Taylor trained boxer knows Ryan inside out considering the Dub is his chief sparring partner at the Colosseum Gym – and he remains adamant Rubino got lucky when stopping and shocking his stablemate earlier this year.
As a result, he isn’t nervous going into just his third pro fight, he will afford the away fighter the same amount of respect he would any other fighter.
“I treat every fight against a man with blood in his veins as dangerous, no fight is more or less important than another,” he tells Irish-boxing.com.
“To me he was getting battered and landed a Hail Mary. If they fought 100 times more Paul stops him 100 times,” he adds before revealing he hasn’t sought any guidance on how to fight the fight from Ryan.
“I’m not the type to plan my fights around my opponent or anything he does. My style is to go out and impose my pace and march people down with heavy shots. It doesn’t matter who is in front of me.”
It’s clever matchmaking and makes the bout all the more interesting to fans.
And even if ‘Sugar Shane’ was to be concerned, he says the fact it’s a clash his coach pushed for means he could never avoid it.
“The initial decision was actually Petes and I’m a little bit old school in that I think your trainer knows you best and you should really be doing what they say otherwise why are they your trainer ?
“Back in Muay Thai you were told who you were fighting and if you didn’t like it you could jog on and I think that’s how it should be. I put my faith in anybody who trains me since they’re putting it in me.
“Who knows how the flow of the fight goes but if I land clean I simply punch far too hard for anybody to take in small gloves.”
McConnell hasn’t had the easiest of rides since turning over with just one fight to his name.
The Deise puncher was last seen in the ring in his home county in April of last year after contesting a debut that came after a prolonged wait.
The Munster mauler assures there is no drama behind the sabbatical and claims it was more misfortune than anything else.
“It’s nothing too exciting just a mix of injuries and personal life commitments that kept me a little too busy for fighting,” he says before revealing he is ready to get motoring and pointing out he may just have benefited from time outside of the competitive ring.
“The road ahead is clear now, it doesn’t seem ideal to some but I’m a far better boxer now than I was when you last saw me. ’ve been competing fairly consistently for nearly 15 years of the 25 I’ve been doing martial arts in one form or another and I’ll be competing for many many more so I’m sure my brain is happy with the odd break from regular smacks.”
Bringing it back to Ryan, he points out sparring the Dub has brought him on.
“I’m learning from Paul nonstop in the gym. I wouldn’t be half as good as I am if it wasn’t for all the rounds with him he has a wealth of knowledge and skills and that’s invaluable to have.”
