One of the most popular New England pugilists, Danny O’Connor delighted hundreds of loud passionate hometown Boston fans in his last outing with a dominating fifth round technical knockout victory over Chris Gilbert in May. O’Connor knockdown Gilbert five times after which referee, Leo Gerstel stopped the bout with 1:04 left in the round. O’Connor, with the win, improved his record to 26-2, 10 KOs and received the vacant New England welterweight title.
“I’m happy with my performance against Gilbert and I’m especially proud of myself for the way I handled all the challenges that led up to this bout with [Paulie] Malignaggi being hurt [cut over his left eyelid during sparring] and then having to change my opponent on one week notice,” said O’Connor. “I’m still working on getting better each and every day and I’ve a great deal more to accomplish.”
O’Connor’s popularity in the Greater Boston Area and throughout New England has grown exponentially since he teamed up with Ken Casey, the bass guitarist and lead singer for the rock band the Dropkick Murphys. Once Casey became O’Connor’s manager, he used his Boston connections to help him become a regular fixture throughout Massachusetts. He showcased O’Connor in the first-ever boxing bout at Gillette Stadium, the House of Blues which is across from Fenway Park and in his last outing, at the Agganis Arena on the Boston University campus. He also fought in the first boxing event at the TD Garden since 2007. All of these venues were well attended with a good amount of the spectators belonging to Clan O’Connor, the official name of his supporters, which has grown over the years, also in part to his easy, humble, and friendly personality.
“Bringing boxing back to Boston is a great feeling and fighting in amazing venues like the TD Garden, Gillette Stadium, and House of Blues is a great accomplishment. Also, with Premier Boxing Champions bringing a large boxing card to Boston, it showed me that Boston is building a hotbed for significant fights and I’m honored to say that I had a part in it,” said O’Connor. “It’s a good thing for the next generation of fighters from this area to have more of an opportunity as they come up through the professional ranks with more fighting venues. This is great for the fans and for the city of Boston.”
His popularity wouldn’t have risen as high as it has had the 30-year-old Irish southpaw remained retired. He announced on his weekly podcast show, “The Danny O Show” on WEEI (850 AM and 93.7 AM) in June of 2014, that he was walking away from his beloved sport that he had been a part of ever since he put on a pair of boxing gloves when he was 16-years-old at the Framingham Police Athletic League.
“I was in training camp in Texas with my trainer Ronnie Shield and my wife and son were in Boston, so the long distance was ruining my marriage and my family and I made a difficult choice to put aside my dreams in boxing for something that is more important to me, which is my family, so I retired. My family is all that really matters to me in this world and everything else is an added bonus,” said O’Connor. “I decided to return because I could train and be with my family at the same time. I’m an extremely focused individual, so I don’t need to be in a training camp far away from my loved ones since I actually operate better when I’m around them. I’ve no regrets about my decision.”
Since O’Connor came out of his brief retirement in October 2014, the seven-year veteran with new trainer, Hector Bermudez in his corner, knocked out Andrew Farmer in the fourth round. He then followed up that performance with one better as he stopped Michael Clark in the opening round in April of this year. He has showcased more of his power since he started his comeback with three consecutive knockout victories after only seven in his previous 25 bouts.
“These recent knockouts are not by design. I don’t look for a knockout but if it comes, I let it come to me and if it doesn’t, then I don’t mind,” said O’Connor. “I’m not a knockout fighter and I’ve never been one because I use my intelligence and skills like speed, jab, defense, and footwork that I’ve been blessed with to win bouts, not power.”
O’Connor is working his way back to the top of the welterweight division to obtain a long sought after opportunity at a world title. This quest to be considered one of the best fighters in his division hasn’t been easy. He was on a nine-bout winning streak and ranked in the top fifteen in a couple of boxing’s organizational rankings when he suffered an extremely controversial ten round split decision loss in October 2013 to former WBA junior welterweight title holder Vivian Harris. Although he completely dominated, outworked, and out landed Harris, and connected on the majority of the power shots throughout these one-sided rounds, he inexplicitly ended up on the wrong side of the decision.
Another setback he has had to overcome was when began his professional career in 2008 with 14 straight victories, he faced his most experienced opponent at that time, Gabriel Bracero. He got extremely sick; however, before the bout. O’Connor coughed up blood in his dressing room and after the bout; he was diagnosed with a bleeding ulcer and anemia. Yet, he still fought competitively throughout his eight-round unanimous decision loss. O’Connor’s incredible work ethic, dedication, fiery determination, and continued support from his beloved Clan O’Connor have enabled him to overcome these adversities and put him in a position to eventually contend for a world championship in the future.
“I’d like to fight as much as possible. If it were up to me, I’d want the chance to compete each and every day. Being in that ring and performing my art is what I love to do,” said O’Connor. “I want the significant bouts like a Malignaggi fight, so that I can match my skills up against the best boxers in the welterweight division. I’m ready for whatever opportunity that comes my way and in the meantime, I’ll try to fight as often as possible.”
The Framingham, Massachusetts native’s professional success is traced back to his impressive amateur career as a lightweight where he obtained an excellent 110-11 record, which was highlighted with a fantastic 2008 when he became the U.S. Olympic Team Alternate. After losing an extremely tough bout to Javier Molina in the semifinals trial run of the box-offs, 18-10, Danny Garcia got injured and O’Connor became the first alternate chosen. This accomplishment was extremely amazing considering that he only started boxing five years earlier.
“Obviously I was extremely disappointed on not making the team but at the same time it was an awesome experience to travel to China and enjoy the Olympic experience while being with the team, which is something that not a lot of people get to do,” said O’Connor. “It`s also an honor to be considered one of the best boxers in your country.”
That same year, he won the National Golden Gloves and the U.S. Nationals, which he was voted the most outstanding boxer. It’s an extremely rare feat to win both national tournaments in the same year, something Hall of Famer boxers, “Sugar” Ray Leonard and Tommy “Hitman” Hearns accomplished. Adding to his already stacked trophy case is the 2007 U.S. Olympic Trial Bronze Medal and four New England Golden Gloves Championships. His most notable amateur victory came against 2008 Dominican Republic Gold Medalist Manuel, Felix Diaz, 23-3. O’Connor was featured in the May 5, 2008 issue of Sports Illustrated, “Faces in the Crowd” for his boxing skills.
For more information on O’Connor, check out his website at http://www.dannyoconnorboxing.com, friend him on Facebook at dannyoconnorboxing, or tweet him on Twitter @DOC_Boxing.
“I want to add a boxing world championship belt to the extensive collection of Boston sports team titles that this great city has earned over the years,” said O’Connor.
