Hi guys, it's my first post in the classic section so first off i'll say hello :hi: Now to the point of the thread .......... A mate of mine is a relation to the 'bubblegum kid' Sean O'Grady, i've known they were related for years but just recently he's been banging on about it a lot (usually when Jim Watts on the T.V :yep) The problem is that there is very little footage I can find of him, only really 'the bloodbath' fight with Shig Fukuyama and a two others, so I wondered if you guys could tell me your thoughts on him as a fighter, what his style was, was his record maybe a bit padded ?, and how do you think he would do against todays top lightweights. Thanks for reading.
You should be able to find video of Sean vs. Kenty, Gannigan, Gonzo Montellano, Watt and, late in his career, Pete Ranzany -- in addition to the Shig fight. He was a standup boxer, decent pop, good footwork, a lot of heart. Very good body puncher IMO.
O'Grady was a good fighter..he's remembered too much for his stint with Al Albert and some corny commentary, but he really was a very good, if mismanaged fighter IMO.
He was beating Watt until he was on the receiving end of a Glasgow Kiss that left a hole in his forhead the size of a ducks egg
Sean grew up in my neck of the woods in Oklahoma. He was, as I'm sure you found out, carefully managed by his father and handfed a long number of stiffs, never-wases and has-beens until he had compiled a record something like 50-0 with 48 ko's. His 1st real test was against future featherweight champion Danny Lopez and the teenage Sean was thoroughly schooled and stopped early. Sean could fight though. He was a tough boxer-puncher and always gave the audience a good fight. He was outboxing Watt for the lightweight title until Watt did a little kangaroo jump and bashed Sean in the forehead, unleashing a massive cut on Sean's forehead, which ultimately got the fight stopped in Watt's favor. His next go-round for a title saw him score a big upset over Hilmer Kenty to win one version of the lightweight title. His dad then refused to buckle down to the organizations (I can't remember if it was WBA or WBC) preferred opponent and he was stripped of his title. He then was stopped by Andy Ganigan and never really was a factor in boxing again although he continued to fight for awhile. He later became a top boxing announcer for USA on their fight cards. I have no idea what he does now. All in all, a very good, but flawed, action fighter.
Hi guys, just found (via the brit forum) that the Watt fight is now on youtube, so here it is if anyone fancies a watch :good http://youtu.be/uFZHzNw3IKQ
Good fighter. Yeah, his record was padded a bit, but then again he got thrown in with Danny Lopez at a very young age. His best effort (IMO) against Hilmer Kenty was on youtube for years. Can't find it now. Here's a good one: [ame]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bptBwy1jFMM[/ame]
Hard to imagine, But in September 1977 the 18 year-old 5' 9" Sean could make 118 lbs. Papa O'Grady wanted to put Sean in the ring with WBA Bantamweight Champion - Alfonso Zamora,,,,,,,,,,,September 2, 1977 at 'The Forum'.
