BOSTON (November 22, 2021) – Irish light heavyweight prospect Tommy “The Kid” O’Toole delivered the most devastating knockout from this past weekend in only his second pro fight, when he put Mark Malone (1-1) to sleep midway through the opening round, fighting on the Andrade-Quigley undercard of Matchroom Boxing’s high-profile event streamed live on DAZN from SHNU Arena in Manchester New Hampshire.
“It was unbelievable fighting in such a big arena with all those fans,” O’Toole spoke about the overall experience of fighting on a major card. Boston’s like a second home for any Irish fighter, especially one from Connemara, because the people from my town are so supportive.”
O’Toole, who is managed by Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker, had a fellow Connemara fighter in his corner, cut-man Sean Mannion, who lived and fought out of Boston. Mannion (42-14-1, 13 KOs – 1978-93) gained the utmost respect of boxing fans in Ireland and Boston for his toughness, especially after going 15 hard rounds with future Hall of Famer Mike “The Bodysnatcher” McCallum for the vacant World Boxing Association Super Welterweight World title.
The 23-year-old O’Toole (2-0, 2 KOs), fighting out of Galway, Ireland, had a great opportunity to showcase his skills on a worldwide platform and he took full advantage, destroying Malone with powerhouse left hooks. “The Kid” even missed his graduation from Galway-Mayo Institute of Technology, held the same day as his fight.
“It was 100-percent okay missing my graduation,” O’Toole said. “I still got my degree and it’s what matters.”
The end of the O’Toole-Malone fight ended abruptly as hurt Malone with a left hook and soon afterwards closed the show with the same punch. There was great concern for Malone, who was out cold before he hit the mat, as he lay there being attended to by the ringside physician.
“I hit him with the first left hook and his knees wobbled,” O’Toole described the action. “I hit him with a good shot, but I didn’t want to get too excited. I knew then that I was going to take him out. I set-up another left hook and I knew he was knocked out.
“I got a little nervous because the referee was counting. I thought he should be getting the doctor in the ring. The fight wasn’t going to continue.”
“I am really proud of what Thomas did on such a big stage,” Roach commented. “He opened a lot of doors for himself with a highlight reel knockout. He told me right before he went out that he was born for this. He was right! He is such a gifted fighter with power in both hands and his footwork was very impressive. We are hoping for a January fight date, but it could be sooner after what he did the other night.”
O’Toole won his pro debut this past September 25th in the Boston suburb of Dedham, in which he knocked down Francisco Ariri Neto three times for a spectacular first-round knockout.
Now back home in Ireland, O’Toole said he’d take a few days off and then return to the gym. He hopes to be back fighting again in January.
O’Toole is part of Fighter Locker’s growing stable of gifted boxers that includes super flyweight Rocco “So Cal Kid” Santomauro (21-1, 6 KOs), NBA Continental junior welterweight & ABF American West super lightweight champion Ray Jay “The Destroyer” Bermudez (15-0, 11 KOs), ABF USA super welterweight Jimmy “Quiet Storm” Williams (18-6-2, 6 KOs), ABF American West super middleweight champion “The Amazing” Shawn McCalman (10-0, 6 KOs), super bantamweight “The Dedication” Daniel Bailey, Jr. (9-0, 5 KOs), 2-time Dominican Republic Olympian, lightweight Leonel de los Santos (4-0, 4 KOs), Boston featherweight Troy Anderson, Jr. (3-0, 2 KO), super lightweights Eric “Gladiator” Goff (4-0, 3 KOs), Marcus Davidson (2-0, 2 KOs), Orlando Perez Zapata (9-0, 6 KOs), and Miranda “La Alacrana” Reyes (5-0-1, 3 KOs), super welterweight Juan Solano (1-0, 1 KO), 2-time Colombian Olympian and 2016 Olympic silver medalist Yuberjen Martinez, Colombian light heavyweight Olympian Jorge Vivas, light heavyweight Robert Daniels, Jr. (5-0, 5 KOs), cruiserweight Roki “Rocky” Berroa (1-0), Utah brothers, ABF American West lightweight champion Ignacio Chairez (8-1-1, 5 KOs) and lightweight Gabriel Chairez (4-0-1, 2 KOs).