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Fight Reports...
FAGAN V CHAVEZ JR (4 Rounds, Non Title):
This was a good fight at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, against the son of the legend Julio Cesar Chavez Jr. The fight was at the start of our professional careers and the legend himself, Julio Sr., brought his son into the ring in front of 16,000 passionate Mexicans fight fans on the under-card of an all-Mexican world title fight between Eric Morales and Jesus Chavez, so I had no chance of winning, unless I had knocked him out. I fought hard and at the end of the fight, the scores were very close, even though I thought I did enough to shade the victory. Recently, Chavez Jr, admitted that I had given him one of the toughest fights of his career, which is always nice to hear.
FAGAN V CARGLE (10 Rounds, Oklahoma State Title):
This was my first professional title fight and my opponent, Lee Cargle was one of the most experienced veterans in the game. He hadn’t the prettiest record, but had fouhgt over 150 times and he had fought anyone who is anyone in the game, including 12 worl champions. He was an extremely durable opponent, but I outworked him all the way through the fight and came out winning every round on the scorecards, so as 'minor' the title was; it was a big deal to me; after all, I had only started boxing professionally, through necessity and almost by accident.
FAGAN V THOMAS (10 Rounds, Irish Light-Welterweight Title):
Jeff Thomas was a really good guy and a nice boxer. He had only been stopped once before, by former WBO Intercontinental Lightweight title holder, Steve Murray. I was raring to go for this fight, as it was my first fight for a title, back in Dublin. There was no way I was taking a step backwards. Jeff had a nice long jab and was trying to keep me on the end of it and he had plenty of tools, but I found a way inside and was throwing some nice hooks to the body. I put him down in the fifth with one such hook to the body, but when he got up, it seemed like I had awoken the dragon and he came at me hard. However, I weathered the storm and had a good 6th round. Then I poured the pressure on in the 7th round. I threw a lot of unanswered punches and seemed to have him reeling, which prompted the ref to come in and stop the fight. This fight made me the proud Irish Light-Welterweight Champion.
FAGAN V SPADAFORA (10 Rounds, Non-Title):
In March, 2007, I fought former IBF Lightweight Champion, Paul “Spaddy” Spadafora, on a show backed by his promoter in Michigan. Spaddy had 39 Wins, 0 Losses and won all his fights, before his fight with me, by Unanimous Decision (UD). I really felt that my style was too aggressive for Spaddy and felt that I won the bout by a round or perhaps two, but the scores ended up with me losing a Split Decision (SD) - the first SD of Spadafora’s career. The crowd were very displeased with the verdict and in chorus, with much cheering, they let me know that they also thought I had won. Spaddy remains unbeaten even now, with a record of 43 wins, 0 losses.
FAGAN V KIMBROUGH (12 Rounds, USBA Title):
In December 2007, I fought US #1, Verquan Kimbrough, in a 12 round bout for the USBA title. Kimbrough’s record before the fight was an impressive, 18 Wins, 1 Loss and 1 Draw. I cut Kimbrough under the eye in the first round and in a back and forth battle, I felt he got the better of me for the first 4 rounds; however, I took over in the fifth and started to utilise my left hook to the body and felt I only lost one round in the rest of the fight, which would have made me the easy winner. However, since the fight was in Kimbrough’s hometown, two of the judges gave the fight to him and one judge, who didn’t seem intimidated by the hometown crowd, gave it to me. Therefore, I lost this fight by yet another Split Decision, in Kimbrough’s hometown.
FAGAN V KHAN (12 Rounds, WBA International Title):
In December 2008, I fought, now, WBA World Champion, Amir Khan in his home country, at the Excel Arena, in England. I came out strong in the first round, but twisted over on my ankle and broke my left leg (fibula). I arose to fight on, but every time I tried to replant my feet, my broken leg would buckle up beneath me and I was even falling without being hit. It was a horrible night for me- the worst experience of my career, particularly, when the pundits at Sky Sports, who were commentating and following-up with reports, in the days after the fight, didn’t actually let any of their viewers know that the leg had broken. Instead they tried to portray a fantastic Khan victory, when in all-fairness; he was ultimately fighting someone with one leg. They operated on the broken left fibula; just days later and I spent a couple of months in a cast and on crutches.
FAGAN V VASSILEV (8 Rounds, Non-Title):
This was a hugely important fight for me, even though there were no titles on the line, as it was my first fight back from the injury in the Khan fight. My opponent was the highly experienced, former-Bulgarian Super Featherweight Champion, Asen Vassilev and it was important for me to make a good impression after being out of the ring for the guts of 6 months. I did just that. I pressured hard from the start and buckled him over with a straight-right hand to the tummy half way through the 2nd round. Vassilev was brave and got up to fight on, but in the 5th round I piled on the pressure and had him down again with a left hook to the body. The referee asked him if he wanted to go on, but he looked away and didn’t reply, so a halt was called to the bout. The win helped my confidence very much and helped me look forward to the next big one.
Watch the full fight by clicking ***HERE***
FAGAN V HYLAND (12 Rounds, IBF International Title):
I took on Eddie Hyland for the IBF International Title in July. I was confident going in that I could cause an upset to Eddie, who is a good friend of mine. It was a little strange fighting against a pal, but business is business and it was the first time in history that two Irish lads had ever fought against each other, for an IBF International title. The action in the fight itself was also historic. Many of the pundits and journalists at ringside labelled it, “The Greatest Irish Fight of all Time”, which although I came out with the loss after 12 hard rounds, it was nice to be part of such a great fight. The fight was a back-and-forth affair and was very close all the way through. In the end, the scores didn’t reflect the great battle that it was. In fact many thought it could have gone either way on the night. I guess that since it was a Hyland-promoted show and all 3 Hyland brothers fought on it, I knew I couldn’t have been afforded any favours from the judges, but that’s boxing, as they say. No complaints from me though- Eddie fought very well and deserved his glory that night with a great boxing display and showed he was a worthy champion. I am very fond of all the Hyland lads- they’re a great bunch, but I hope they find it in their hearts to grant me a rematch, which for the record, is my priority.
FAGAN V IVANOVS (6 Round Non-Title):
I took this fight at Light-Welterweight, 140 lbs and I weighed in bang on the weight. My opponent was 4 lbs heavier, so he had to go for a quick run, to lose some weight. As soon as he did, the fight was a “GO”. Ivanovs looked fit and confident as we entered the ring and started throwing bombs from the start. I sluggishly lunged at him, after a slow start and I lost my footing. With that, Ivanovs threw a left hook that connected and since I was off-balance, I fumbled and my hand touched the canvas. The slip was called a ‘knockdown’, even though I was up before the referee had called out the number “ONE”. Now that there was a ‘knockdown’ scored, it meant I had to work extra hard, not to be left too far behind on the scorecards. I had a mountain to climb, but I was up for the task.
Ivanovs thought he had hurt me, as he tried to finish me off and threw everything at me. However, I just covered up and waited until he punched himself out. When I thought he had nothing left, I went to work and started a heavy attack on his body. I was connecting nicely with left and right hooks to the mid-section and I heard him gasping for air after one such, snappy left hook to the body. Then, as he was dealing with that shot, I switched my attack to the other side and landed a beautiful right hook to the floating rib. Down he went and I was surprised to see him get back up, but it was coming to the end of the round and I guessed he knew he’d be able to rest for a minute. As soon as he rose, the bell went for the end of the round. I came out like a bull in the next round and after starting with another body attack, I started throwing some nice uppercuts; they were landing right on the ‘money’ and knocking his head back every time I threw them. Then, as he came to swing at me, I saw an opening for yet another uppercut and caught him flush on the chin. He flew back against the ropes and fell to the floor. He wasn’t getting back up after that shot and referee, Mickey Vann announced me as the winner, after 62 seconds of the 2nd round. This win brought my record to 24 wins and 7 losses (15 by way of Knockout).
FAGAN V GREAVES (6-Round, Non-Title):
This fight was contracted at Light-Welterweight (140lbs). Greaves had a poor record but had fought and gone the distance with the best in the division and he was well-able to box. His record was misleading; his 40-something fight experience being his saving grace.
I won the first few rounds easily; although, Greaves was very fond of using his head and he cut me over the left eye in the 2nd round with one such headbutt. My cut man, Joe Clifford, got to work and sorted things out with his expertise, stopping the blood from streaming into my eye from the 4th round on.
I caught Greaves with a beautiful left hook in the 3rd round which had him dazed and then in the 5th I had him pinned up against the ropes for most of the round, punishing him with over-hand rights which were finding the target nicely. At this stage though, Greaves was in 'survival-mode' and was on the back foot and definitely didn't want to scrap it out in the middle of the ring. Instead he was more into 'showboating' to distract the crowd from them seeing him getting beaten up and down the ring.
All that said, I didn't feel very well in there tonight. I felt quite bloated and a little sluggish compared to normal, so coming out with an easy-win while not feeling great is a good sign.
At the end of the fight, my hand was raised, which brought my record to 25 Wins, 7 Losses (15 KO's).
Watch the full fight by clicking ***HERE***
FAGAN V MURRAY (10 Round, Irish Title):
This fight took place at the National Boxing Stadium, Dublin, Ireland, for the Irish Lightweight title. Many of you probably know how it went, as it was live on the TV and on the net etc, but for those of you who haven’t heard; I lost, but it was quite controversial (in my eyes and in the eyes of many who attended), as the fight was stopped just mid-way through the fifth round, for no apparent reason.
I was not hurt and I was not staggered at any stage; instead, I was pushing the action and trying to find my range to come on strong in the later rounds. However, when referee stepped in, I was waiting for him to bend over; perhaps, to pick up a mouth-guard (gum-shield) or something, as I had no idea what else he could be stopping the action for. He just looked at me, and said… “That’s it- the fight’s over!” I could absolutely not believe what I was hearing. I looked at him as if he was playing some kind of elaborate joke, but there was no punch-line- the fight was over and that was that.
In the first round, I came out strong and threw a few nice over-hand rights and was connecting nicely. Murray was a very tall guy- about 5’10” and a whole head taller than I was, so he was tough to catch. He was nice on his feet and had used some subtle movements that made me miss. However, in the first, I was catching him with those over-hand rights quite regularly and thought I took that round, 1-0. He started to get his rhythm in the second but I thought I was still connecting enough to perhaps share the round. However, in the third, he had quite a good round and caught me with a couple of nice uppercuts and started to utilise his left hook. I felt it was his round for sure.
In the fourth, we both shared some good periods, but I felt he snuck this round; however, I was feeling confident that I could keep him on the back-foot and pressure him. I was looking forward to bringing him into the trenches as the fight wore on. Then, in the fifth, he seemed to find his range and was slipping and making me miss and coming back with some nice combinations of his own. However, I was feeling comfortable and had a good feeling that things would go to plan, once I started upping the pace in the seventh round, as we had planned in the gym. So, during this round, the idea was to stay calm and move the head. He hit me with a couple of shots and I returned fire and things were starting to heat-up. Then all of a sudden, the fight was stopped. I looked at Andy to check if he’d lost his mouth-guard (gum-shield), but he hadn’t. Then, when I looked back at the ref, he exclaimed, “The fight is over!” I was absolutely dumbfounded and couldn’t believe it. I asked why the fight was stopped, but I couldn’t hear what the ref was saying over the confusion in the stadium. I looked around in disarray and then I saw the corner men coming in to congratulate Andy. I don’t know what was done in the fight to warrant such an early stoppage. I was feeling comfortable in there and was looking forward to the getting busier. Yes, Andy was starting to get the better of things, but all it would take was a change of tactics to get back on track, but I was never given the chance.
I felt that my profile of such few stoppages against me was being used to further Andy's profile. I was confused, especially with the manner of Andy's victory over me. If he had beaten me on points, then fair enough, as he was a very skilled operator; however, a STOPPAGE, of all things? I was in utter disbelief, as I wasn't hurt at all.
Considering that I’d only been stopped twice in my whole career, spanning 32 fights, up until Saturday, I was totally shocked. One of the previous stoppages; happened, most recently, against Amir Khan, when I broke my left fibula. Then, the only other time, was when my face was caved-in, with 4 cracked bones from an accidental head-butt to my nose and maxilla bone, in a fight at the start of my career. That fight was eventually stopped in the last round, because of the amount of blood I had lost, even though the incident had happened in the first round.
So, believe me- I know what it takes to fight through extreme adversity, and this fight with Andy, was not adversity as I'd known it in the past. However, the reality, was that I was now faced with yet another stoppage on my record. I was disgusted! As nice a guy Andy is and as good a boxer he showed himself to be, I didn’t feel like he had the power to hurt me, let alone STOP me. In all honesty, this has really left a bad-taste in my mouth. I didn’t break any bones and I certainly didn’t look like I was in trouble. I was continuing to throw punches back and return fire- so, what was the problem? This is supposed to be professional boxing. It’s a tough game, for tough competitors. I totally understand that there are rules to abide by and if the referee sees any reason to stop a fight because of a fighter taking too much punishment, then fine, as I’m all about keeping boxers safe. However, I was safe- I was feeling VERY comfortable and was looking forward to upping the pace for the grand finale in the later rounds. That’s just how I roll- I’m a seasoned professional, so I was only getting into my rhythm and was eventually going to try drag him into deep waters. It took me a little longer than usual as he was quite fit too, but believe me, it was coming. Instead, I was insulted, hugely, with the stoppage.
The worst thing about this for me was that it was broadcast live over national television and even though most people will have seen the footage and agreed that it shouldn’t have been stopped, it still goes down on my record that I was stopped by my opponent and that’s just wrong. I am a proud Irish fighter and it’s bad enough to have to fight on my opponent’s promoter’s cards as the underdog, against a nice boxer such as Andy, but at least let me do what I do best. Everyone knows that as far as boxing goes, I would be the first to admit that there are amateurs who are better 'boxers' than I am. However, one thing that they won’t enjoy over me, is a tougher Irish heart, determination and grit; therefore, my game, is to bring my opponents into the trenches, late in the game and then, use my resilience to overcome. That’s the only reason someone, like myself, with a total of just 3 amateur fight,s can fight against a world champion like Paul Spadafora, go the distance, on his turf and still come out with a Split-Decision on his promoter's card. I fight with my heart- not boxing skills. And usually, that’s allowed to be the great equalizer in this sport; however, I was not allowed to illustrate my fortitude and I think that Ireland lost out in seeing a classic fight because of that. I also feel that Andy lost out on a great learning-experience.
I tip Andy for great things in world boxing in the future and he’s a great lad, so I will support him all the way; however, he needed somebody like me, to test him in a war. There are no doubts that when Andy is ready, he’ll be taking on some tough guys on their turf and I really believe he would have benefited greatly from a fight with me in the later stages of the bout to prepare him for the road ahead. Unfortunately t hough, with the early stoppage, it didn’t develop that way. Andy now remains unbeaten in 18 fights, but lost out on a very beneficial learning experience that I feel like I could have provided. The loss brings my record down to 25 Wins, with 8 Losses (15 KO's) and 1 Heavy Heart.
Watch the full fight by clicking ***HERE***
FAGAN V LAKATOS (6 Round Non-title):
This was a very important bout for me, simply, because it was my first one back. I am deadly serious about just having one or two more fights to end my career and my fight yesterday against the experienced Hungarian, Karoly Lakatos, was the best possible start, in my estimation.
He was an awkward opponent and lanky. He had 37 pro-fights behind him and although his record was mediocre at best, he was a tough-nut and had been rarely stopped in his career. At the weigh-in I couldn't believe that he made the weight so comfortably, as he was really tall. He stood at 5'11" and towered over me, so when they called out his weight at "9 stone 12 lbs" (138lbs), I had to creep up and peep over his shoulder to double-check. It actually took that re-check, to reassure me.
It was really strange coming back after so long. I thought I would have been very nervous, but to be honest I took it in my stride. I didn't think much about the fight itself in the run-up to it; whereas, I'd normally toss and turn at night thinking about the combinations I was going to throw at my opponent and that sort of stuff, but I only 'switched-on' to the task at hand about 3-hours before the fight itself. This proved to be a positive occurrence, as that messing, would usually be wasted as nervous-energy.
The fight was at the City West Convention Centre, in Dublin and I felt the buzz of the crowd as they called my name into the ring. My old pal and cut-man, Joe Clifford who usually accompanies me into the ring was sorely missed as he's usually really good at 'framing' the mind and has that calming-effect in the corner, so I hope he can make it back for the next fight I have.
Lakatos and I touched gloves in the middle of the ring and we were off. The first round was about trying to brush away the cobwebs. I felt a little rusty in there, so I tried to use a lot of movement and I eventually started to get my rhythm. Lakatos threw a sneaky body shot that caught me as I was breathing in- "Ouch!" So, in retaliation I belted him with a straight right to the belly. "Howdya like that pal? Not so nice now, is it?" Then, I missed with a couple of over-hand rights, as I threw them from too far out. My trainer, Phil Succliffe told me in the corner to get in close before trying that again. In the second I was getting into it and felt really good. My head-movement was good and I was covering up well and throwing some nice hooks to the body. He was getting uncomfortable in there and there was no way I was letting him take a break. My engine is always good and I'm always fit, so I could go at this pace forever and I doubted that Lakatos could, so I expected that I could get rid of him early. However, he was tougher than I thought and sucked it up.
In the third and fourth, I was dominating and I caught him lovely to the body on a few occasions, but I turned it on big-time in the fifth. I started to turn over my left and right hooks to the head and was catching him at ease. Boom, a right-hook caught him flush- looks as if he's falling down- maybe I can give him a helping hand, BOOM, left-hook catches him clean- he wobbles and the crowd go wild. However, remarkably, he stays on his feet and I overshoot what I expected to be the finishing shot, but it's thrown too long and travels behind his head. He grabs on long enough to steady himself and seems to be out of danger. I felt I had let him off the hook- I could have closed the show right there.
The sixth starts slowly, but I bring it on at the end- left and right hooks to the body and I hear him gasping for air- I've hurt him again, but this guy is a tough lad and he covers up until the bell sounds to end the fight. The referee calls out the scores and has me winning every round, bar one. I thought that I won every round to be quite honest and most people would agree with me at ringside. However, my arm is raised as the winner and that's the main objective for this fight. I am just happy to return with a solid victory behind me and I felt that I looked pretty good in doing so. I boxed quite well and it was a pleasing performance, improving my record to 26 wins out of 34 professional fights, with 15 knockouts to my name.
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Title Fights:
Oklahoma
State Lightweight Champion
(2005)
*
Irish
Light-Welterweight Champion
(2006)
*
USBA
Lightweight
Challenger
(2007)
*
WBA
International
Lightweight
Challenger
(2008)
*
IBF
International
Super-Featherweight
Challenger
(2009)
*
Irish
Lightweight
Challenger
(2010)
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