February 16, 2011
By Staff Reporter
By Jay Mwamba
Lightweight Martin O’Malley, who has relocated to New York from his Washington State home in his quest for boxing glory, returns to the ring this Saturday, April 29, with a scheduled eight-round contest in Antigua, West Indies.
The undefeated O’Malley, who was born in Edmonds, Wash., and raised in County Wicklow, is billed to fight one Jose Narv’z in the non-title
bout. It will be the 24-year-old prospect’s 13th professional fight.
"I don’t know anything about the guy, but I’ll be ready for him," O’Malley said from his upstate New York base last weekend.
He has been training hard at Gleason’s gym in Brooklyn Heights since arriving in New York from Edmonds two weeks ago and said he was in good shape. He will have his County Mayo-born father Martin, Sr., a former amateur fighter himself, in his corner in Antigua.
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O’Malley, who has won 11 of his 12 fights via knockout, hopes that this will be the first of several bouts this year that will put him in line for a world title shot.
"I’ll about six more fights and the right exposure, then I’ll be ready to fight for the title," he remarked.
Martin Somers, O’ Malley’s handler, said his charge would have a busy few months ahead of him.
"[Martin] is very eager to show the Irish on the East Coast his complete arsenal of boxing skills, which have resulted in a record of 12-0 with 11 knockouts," Somers said. "They shouldn’t have long to wait as he hopes to be fighting in the New York area shortly."
The Antigua bout will be O’Malley’s second pro contest outside the United States. He fought in Dublin last year, stopping Englishman Peter Buckley in three rounds.
Although he’s eager to establish himself as a serious world title contender at 135 pounds, one of O’Malley’s immediate goals is to win an Irish Championship. And there’s a possibility that this may happen as early as this summer, in either Seattle or New York.
"I’m eligible to fight for an Irish title and hope to do so shortly," O’ Malley said.
A boxer since age 14, O’Malley had an impressive amateur career, scoring a remarkable 30 KOs in 49 victories between 1990 and 1996.
Along the way, O’Malley picked up a bushel of honors, including the 1991 Junior Olympic title at 85 pounds, the 1993 National Police Athletic League flyweight championship, and "Golden Boy" accolades in 1995 (bantamweight) and 1996 (featherweight) for best boxer in the Las Vegas
Golden Gloves.
He was picked for the U.S. team to the 1994 Goodwill Games in Russia, where he suffered one of only seven amateur losses, to a Russian in the
quarterfinals of the flyweight competition.
The flashy Floyd Mayweather, Jr., currently World Boxing Council lightweight champion, was one of the few other fighters to best O’Malley, winning a close decision in the final of the 1996 National Golden Gloves Championships in Cleveland.