Shauna O’Keeffe looking to seal spot on Katie Taylor undercard
Shauna O’Keeffe says she will make Eddie Hearn sit up and take note this Saturday night.
The Tipperary prospect takes to the ring for just the second time as a pro when she boxes Angelika Oles on the McEleney Promotions ‘Breaking Ground’ card in Salthill.
O’Keeffe is beyond excited at the prospect of going to work at home and is eager to make sure she appears on another Irish card this year.
The Kevin Mitchell-trained boxer wants on the Katie Taylor bill in May and is determined to impress her way onto the Matchroom-promoted 3Arena-hosted card.
“There are more cards this year held by Matchroom Boxing and my goal is to make enough noise that Eddie will put me on the May 25th bill,” O’Keeffe tells Irish-boxing.com.
“I believe I am good enough to be on the big stage.”
Irish-boxing.com understands Matchroom is aware of O’Keeffe courtesy of Mitchell and her time spent in the Matchroom Gym, but what could really catch the eye is the number of fans she brings to Galway.
And it certainly seems that Clonmel is set to come out in force.
“I’m not going to lie, I can’t stop smiling. To be fighting in Ireland is the best feeling in the world. The reaction has been crazy everyone is so excited to see me fight.
“Having a fight on home soil is what every fighter dreams of. Not only that, there is no support like Irish support.”
The 2023 light welterweight National Elite Champion had somewhat of a baptism of fire when she debuted against Vaida Masiokaite over six two-minute rounds late last year.
She came through with room to spare but was given pro game eye-opener by an opponent with an upset or three on her record.
“My debut was hard but good,” she comments.
“I learned so much from the experience. I learned that I have a long way to go to get to where I want to be in the pros. I also learned from that night I’m made for this game.”
O’Keeffe has taken those learnings on board and worked hard to make improvements. The southpaw says the fruits of that labour will be on display in Galway.
“I’m after improving massively and I want to showcase that. I don’t want to get carried away I want to win in style.”
