My son’s bravery made me fearless in the ring
AT FIRST, Niall Kennedy’s trainer didn’t want him to take up the fight in the States that changed his life. Paschal Collins thought the pay-day offered to meet the highly-regarded Alexis Santos was ‘embarrassing’. But Kennedy felt the bout could open doors.
A few weeks before he was due to fly out, he was on the verge of pulling out, though. MJ, his and Niamh’s first child, had been born 12 weeks premature.
His son would end up spending 55 days in the hospital. Suddenly, the biggest bout of his nascent pro career didn’t seem all that important.
It was his wife that convinced him to go to the States.
‘Niamh said that MJ would just be in hospital, so I might as well take this chance,’ Kennedy recalls. ‘And I used him for motivation. I thought if he was fighting as hard as he could in Holles Street and winning his battle, then I would do everything I could to win this bout. I would fight as hard as he was.’
MJ has been home a few weeks now and is thriving. And his father?
He has just come home from sparring with Anthony Joshua, the world heavyweight champion, after shocking the American boxing world by beating Santos to land the New England state title in the headline bout on the Broadway Boxing show in Foxwoods Resort and Casino last month.
It has been one of the biggest shocks of the boxing year. Kennedy, a 33-yearold Garda from Gorey, was fighting only his ninth professional bout. Santos was a knock-out artist who was being cultivated by Lou Di Bella, the famous US promoter, as the next big thing.
‘Di Bella saw him as his next contender and Santos was 17-0 before he met me, and had won 15 of those by knockout. It was my first time fighting a 10-rounder. So, it was a big risk.’ But it paid off. Driven by thoughts of his young son in the neo-natal unit and with the savvy Collins in his corner, Kennedy delivered a remarkable victory.
He had begun on the front foot and easily won the first three rounds. But Santos started to feel his way into the bout and by the fifth round, Kennedy went back to his stool and admits that he was thinking that he had bitten off much more than he could chew.
‘Santos was the rising star and expected to win easily. So, I think he probably under-estimated me a good bit, especially as there were doubts as to whether I would even accept the fight.
‘And to be honest, around the fifth round, I did start to wonder if I was fit enough to last the 10 rounds, as he got on top of me. But I had MJ’s name written on my forearm and looking at that, reminded me of the fight that he was winning and it gave a new lease of life.
‘I wasn’t afraid of losing. I wanted to go out on my shield and have no regrets.’
He claimed a split-decision and the shock result didn’t go unnoticed in the wider boxing world. When they came back to Ireland, Collins got a call from Rob McCracken, Joshua’s coach, who wanted a video of the fight. McCracken liked what he saw. He called Kennedy and the next day, he was on a flight to Sheffield. All in all, Kennedy sparred more than two dozen rounds with Joshua ahead of his world heavyweight title defence tonight against Carlos Takam. It should have been more — only Hurricane Ophelia intervened. Originally, McCracken and Joshua wanted Kennedy in camp for the final two weeks but with MJ getting out of hospital and his work commitments in the Wicklow station, that just wasn’t feasible.
‘It was an amazing experience,’ says Kennedy, who played for Wexford footballers up to Under 21 level. ‘He is a proper role model for the sport, a complete gentleman. Lovely guy, so humble. You couldn’t help but root for him.
‘And after sparring with him, I realise that maybe I am not as far away from the elite level as I would have thought previously. I am not going to say I won any rounds but I did test him.
‘Having been in the ring with him, it is clear he is mobile. Deceptively mobile. Everyone goes on about his power, but he is well able to move. He is a real master of his craft. The first time I saw him, I felt like he was chiselled out of stone. And himself and Rob have a great relationship going.’
Joshua did provide Kennedy with two tickets for tonight’s fight. But he had to decline the offer. He has to be in the station at six in the morning. ‘It is a shame, because it would have been great to be in the Principality Stadium, especially as I would have got to see Katie Taylor become world champion, too. She is such an inspiration to me.’
Kennedy now wants to strike while the iron is hot. There’s a bit of hype around him, especially given that Joshua enlisted his help. The plan is to fight again in the States before Christmas and have two more bouts early next year. And then see where it goes.
‘At 33, age is not on my side,’ says Kennedy, who only turned pro in May 2015 after an undistinguished amateur career, where he reached two national finals and a few more semi-finals. ‘I didn’t apply myself as much as I should in the amateur days. But if there is the possibility of a few more bouts in the coming year, I might look at taking a career break.’
When he was over in Sheffield with Joshua, he got a glimpse into how things work in the strasophere in which Britain’s 2012 Olympic hero operates. Kennedy knew Wexford hurling star Conor McDonald was in Nottingham, so he invited him down for a visit.
‘I know Conor really well, and he did my water for one of the sparring sessions.’ The two Gorey lads even gave the world heavyweight champion a Wexford jersey, although Joshua had to explain that he couldn’t wear any sporting top that wasn’t Under Armour, his sponsor.
‘That’s what happens at that level, but he asked to keep it, so he must have liked it. Maybe I’ll get him over for a Wexford game next summer,’ Kennedy says with a smile. By the time the Hurling Championship rolls around, who knows where the remarkable, and swift, rise of Niall Kennedy will take him? He’s likely to defend the New England belt in Boston next month.
And given what came out of accepting that bout against Santos, it is unlikely that Niall Kennedy will be turning down any opportunities that come his way in the coming months.
‘I wanted to go out on my shield, no regrets’