New York-born light heavyweight Seanie Monaghan took one of his regular trips back to Ireland recently, and the popular slugger caught up with irish-boxing.com to tell us his plans for 2016.

Now 26(16)-0 and ranked in the Top 10 with all four major governing bodies (WBC #4, IBF #4, WBO #6, WBC #8), Monaghan is ready to make an assault on World titles this year.

Detailing his background, the 34 year old Long Islander explained how “my family are from Navan, I’ve been back here plenty of times, maybe ten times I’ve been back.”

On his climb to the top, Monaghan noted that he had little boxing background but through hard work, determination, and a natural flair, he has flourished inside the ring.

“The first time I stepped into a gym I was 21, the plan was always to go professional, I just wanted to get my feet wet with the amateurs – I made it to the finals of the Golden Gloves and then I moved on.”

“I was a street guy, a bar guy, now here I am in the Top 5 of the World.”

Indeed his grit inside the ring is matched by his ambition outside it, and in a division where the big names have been kept apart, Monaghan is refreshing in his willingness to fight any of the top stars. The 34 year old throwback fighter is adamant that “I’m here to fight, I’ll fight anyone out there.”

However, a slightly frustrated Monaghan feels that factors outside the ring have hindered his ability to fight these big names. The unbeaten Top Rank star outlined how “there’s a lot of political conflicts out there with promoters”

“I thought signing with Top Rank was a dream come true – but I’m kinda the odd man out now.”

“Al Haymon has all the top light heavyweights, he’s got Stevenson, Fonfara, Beterbiev, Chavez Jnr.”

“Promoters love to keep the fights in-house – if you look at what Top Rank does, they’ve got Timothy Bradley, Manny Pacquiao, Juan Manuel Marquez, they’ve all fought each other a hundred times.”

One man Monaghan has been mentioned with more than most is Germany’s WBA ‘regular’ champion Juergen Braemher [47(35)-2(0)], and he revealed that “supposedly they’re [Top Rank] are in talks with Braehmer, they’re trying to get him over to New York for St. Paddy’s Day.”

Nevertheless, if a Madison Square Garden mega-bout can’t be made, the Irish-American bruiser is confident of traveling to Germany and upsetting the odds, despite his promoter’s reservations about judging. Monaghan admitted that “they’re not crazy about me going to Germany to fight him, but at this point I’m 26-0 and I’m willing to travel and take a risk. I just have to keep on winning and things are gonna shake loose.”

Whoever Monaghan fights in 2016, it is sure to be an exciting affair, and his all-action, in-your-face style could cause anyone problems.