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Cyclone ready to hit boston
 By
David Thorpe
As Kevin McBride travels around the streets of Boston with his toolkit
in his hand the cheers and catcalls from passers-by are the only indication
that the big Monaghan man is any different to any of the many other Irish
construction workers who have made their lives in America.
But McBride will always be remembered as the Irishman who ended the career
of Mike Tyson. A roofer by day McBride was chosen to provide an easy fight
to relaunch the career of the great Tyson and when the ‘Clones Cyclone’
McBride sent him to the canvas the boxing world was shocked.
The glamour and media circus which surrounded McBride in the weeks before
he fought Tyson soon evaporated and McBride continued his career as an
occasional boxer and full-time roofer.
He said: “Beating a big-name fighter like Tyson gets you into the
picture. I had many opportunities to cash in but I was badly advised and
found myself back at square one.
“To be honest if I did nothing else in boxing but beat Tyson then
I could have been happy and being the first Irish World Champion would
be much more valuable than money anyway.”
But beating the former undisputed heavyweight champion of the world was
only the beginning of Kevin McBride’s dream.
The 6ft 6in Monaghan man declared to anyone who would listen that he would
become the first-ever Irish world heavyweight boxing champion.
Most who knew of his undistinguished boxing record wondered if perhaps
one of Tyson’s punches hadn’t had a lasting effect on McBride
but in early October the roofer from Clones gets his chance to live his
dream and fight for a world heavyweight title.
Speaking this week McBride said: “If I was better managed and advised
earlier in my career I probably would have gotten to this stage a few
years ago but I don’t want to be one of those people who spends
their life talking about what might have been.
“I have confidence in my own ability but now it’s time to
show the rest of the world what I am capable of.”
He fights Kevin Ruiz the prize is a title shot. At 34 time is ticking
on his career but if he wins at Madison Square Garden on October 6 the
Irish emigrant plying his trade in the suburbs of Boston could find himself
on top of the world. |
