“Lost” Roy Sheahan doesn’t care who he faces in Ireland’s Last Man Standing

Roy Sheahan [1(0)-0] has been installed as third seed for Saturday night’s Ireland’s Last Man Standing competition in Dublin but the Athy middleweight may end up closing his eyes and picking his first opponent at random.

The match-up process for the tournament is similar to that of the World Boxing Super Series in that four seeded boxers will pick their quarter-final opponents. However, Sheahan is not familiar with Owen Jobburn, Vladimir Belujsky, Ger Healy, or Nick Quigley, and there won’t be any tactical selection at play.

“I’ll tell you the truth, I’m lost!” laughed Sheahan when speaking to Irish-Boxing.com earlier today.

“There’s that many coming in and out each week, it’s hard to prepare. Trying to prepare yourself for two or three lads you could be fighting – you can’t! So I’m just going to take it as it comes.”

“There’s two new lads in that I only found out about yesterday!”

“I don’t really know anything about them and I’m not even going to look at any of their records.”

“I haven’t looked at any of them, studied any of them, and to tell you the truth, I don’t really care. If there’s a good lad, he’s going to have to be beat anyway.”

“I’ve prepared my style and for myself to perform the way I can, and that’s the only thing I can do on the night. Yes, you adapt to other fighters, but as long as you perform to your ability, everything should go well”

“It’s exciting, sure, you don’t know who you could be fighting, who’s in or out or what’s going on!” joked ‘The Joker’.

The 2007 EU gold medalist at welterweight has turned pro at the advanced age of 33, looking to take advantage of the mega-money single-elimination tournament which awards its winner with a cheque for a whopping €25,000.

However, Sheahan isn’t planning on a smash and grab, and sees the night – where he is seeded alongside Jack Cullen, Chris Blaney, and JJ McDonagh – as a platform to bigger things.

The lilywhite outlined how “for anybody to win it, it is a big opportunity. They’ll have an Irish title fight and that’s a nice purse for them too.”

“Who knows after that? You’ll be able to train properly as a boxer and that could lead to more money fights, that’s what it’s all about. It’s very hard to train full-time.”

“The 25 is there for the taking for whoever wants it, but I have to take it one fight at a time. It’s not going to be an easy task for anybody. We’re all going to be there fighting for it, nobody trained to lose.”

“Whoever wins that 25 grand is going to have to show big heart on the night and want it more than the other lads.”

The Kildare boxer, both to fulfill BUI criteria and satisfy his own desire to sharpen up, debuted at the start of last month with a four-round points win over Jordan Grannum.

Reflecting on the preparatory victory at the York Hall in London, Sheahan described how “I enjoyed it and, to tell you the truth, I would have liked another fight after that. I just needed to get the feeling of having the top off. It was a four-rounder and your man was a journeyman but he was a good journeyman who had never been knocked out.”

“I knew he was going to be there for the four rounds and he was tricky enough. When I hit him he would fold up but then come out with a big left hook so you had to be careful.”

“I needed that fight to get the ring rust off, I’ve been out of the ring for a while.”

Naturally fit and strong, Sheahan is in supreme shape having linked up with coach Steven O’Rourke and is fully ready for a big showing at the weekend at the National Stadium – the scene of his four Irish title wins.

Sheahan outlined how “camp has been going brilliant with the lads there in St Michael’s [Inchicore], great sparring, great preparation, coaching, everything.”

“I’m trying to adapt to the pro style but not changing too much because it’s three three-minute rounds in this Last Man Standing.”

“My style is about picking my shots, but you have to adapt to fighting inside, it’s way different, it really is. Power shots, even the little ones in behind the elbow, up the middle.”

“I’m enjoying it, it’s been very good. My fitness is there.”

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