Boxing Roundup: McBride, Clancy siblings keep Irish pugs perfect

But although rusty and sluggish in the wake of a 15-month layoff, the “Clones Colossus” put enough hurt on Michigan heavyweight Kevin Montiy to post a fifth-round TKO in their non-title bout on ESPN2.
The bigger man by an inch and some 30 pounds, McBride, a 6-foot-6, 264-pound behemoth, broke down Montiy in what appeared to be a slow-paced slugging match after the Duddy fireworks.
Quicker and more mobile, Montiy, who’s 29, got in some good shots in the first couple of rounds as he attempted to add to his 12 stoppages on his 15-2-1 ledger. But he found the 31-year-old Irish and IBC Americas champion an unmovable object.
McBride threw an assortment of punches — including the proverbial kitchen sink — at his rapidly fading opponent as the rounds progressed, finally flooring him in the fifth round with a right hook.
With the exhausted Montiy hardly fighting back, McBride pummeled him around the ring before a final assault in a neutral corner brought referee Ed Cotton to Montiy’s rescue at 2:28 minutes of the fifth.
McBride, who bettered his record to 32-4 (27 KOs), was satisfied with his effort and reiterated his interest in fighting Mike Tyson.
“I took my time. I knew it was [scheduled for] 10 rounds,” he said in defense of the slow pace. “I shook off the ring rust, but wish I’d gone a few more rounds.”
On Tyson, who, according to an Internet story earlier in the day, is still interested in a summer bout with the Irishman, McBride said: “I want Tyson, too. I want to beat the best. I want to step up.”
McBride was originally offered to meet Tyson last July. Tyson’s camp, however, decided to cut their initial purse offer to the Brockton-based fighter by nearly 50 percent before settling for Englishman Danny Williams, who went on to stop the former champ.
Paschal Collins, a McBride corner man on the night who helped trainer Goody Petronelli prepare the Irish giant for the fight, was pleased with his performance.
“Everything went to plan,” he said. “Kevin’s been out of the ring for [15] months, so we knew what to expect. He wore him down. That was the plan,” he said.
“It was a tough workout. His conditioning was good, although the timing was off.”

CLASSY CLANCYS
The Clancy brothers, James and Mark, both won unanimous decisions on the undercard of the Northeast Promotions show at Foxwoods.
Mark, the younger of the two County Clare siblings now fighting out of Watertown, Mass., opened the show with a labored effort over Minnesota’s Joe Lorenzi in a four-round cruiserweight battle.
“Tough fight,” Mark, who’s 28, said. “He was switching [stances] all the time. I didn’t know he’d switch.”
He improved to 2-0 but admitted that he didn’t feel as good as he did on his debut last October.
James, a heavyweight who hopes to make cruiserweight later in the year, proved adept at infighting in his four-round scrap with Harold Rodriguez, who broke Clancy’s protective cup with two low blows.
Referee Cotton docked Rodriguez points in the second and fourth rounds for the infringements, while James got back at his flabby foe by beating on him like a drum.
“I knew he was a dirty fighter, but I didn’t think that he’d be that bad,” said James. “I trained hard and felt good. That’s another one over.”
The 31-year-old late bloomer improved to 4-0 (1 KO).

TERMINATOR VICTORIOUS
Eammon “The Terminator” Magee halted Danish challenger Allan Vester in three rounds at King’s Hall in Belfast last Friday to retain his World Boxing Union welterweight crown.
Magee (26-4, 17 KOs) made an emotional return to the ring after being told by doctors last year that he’d never fight again following a vicious street attack.
Brian Magee’s bid for Joe Calzaghe’s World Boxing Organization super middleweight belt was scrapped at the last minute when the WBO reportedly refused to sanction the Welshman’s voluntary defense.
This followed a protest by mandatory challenger Mario Veit who is scheduled to meet Calzaghe in Germany on May 7.