Monaghan turn’s boos into cheers on Cotto/Margarito undercard

By Jonny Stapleton

Navan’s Seanie Monaghan turned boos into cheers in Maidison Square Garden last Saturday night, as he continued his rise to light heavyweight prominence with a knock out victory over Santos Martinez.

The Long Beach based fighter was never going to be popular once it was revealed his opponent on the under card of Miguel Cotto and Antonio Margarito’s grudge match had Puerto Rican blood running through his veins.

However, his all action approach won over the South American support and by the time he ended the affair with just four seconds of the second round remaining there was a lot of Latin love in the Stadium for the Irish title hopeful.

“It was an amazing experience to fight in a sold out Madison Square garden. It was the first time I ever got booed. I had about 700 people from Long Beach with me but the place was sold out with Cotto fans from Puerto Rico so when they announced Santos Martinez as my opponent the place went nuts. I just laughed and went about my business,” Monaghan told www.irish-boxing.com

“By the end of the fight even the Puerto Ricans were cheering for me. They wanted to see some action and thats exactly what they got. I’m always happy to get the KO and come out unscathed.”

Victory over Martinez concludes another exciting chapter in Monaghan’s career. The undefeated star has fought on massive cards and he claims knowing a crowd will be in attendance is the best pre fight motivation you can get.

“My career has been unbelievable so far. I’ve had 11 fights in less than a year and a half. I’ve fought on the undercards of Shannon Briggs, David Tua, Andy Lee, Sergio Martinez  and now Miguel Cotto. The exposure is great and it really motivates me during my training camp knowing I am fighting in front of so many people.”