But I came here, I wanted to try a professional boxing, and I didn't know how far would I go or what would happen, like, you know, boxing is a tough sport. But I mean, it's so the training is very hard to everything about it is very hard. But the thing is, if you love it, it goes into your blood and it's like a drug. It's in your blood for life. You.

I want to tell you about this guy, a modest guy, a quiet guy, I came across with a huge heart. You may have heard of Barry McGilligan and Steve Collins, but probably haven't heard of Sean mentioned he wasn't what you'd call braggadocio.

He was a humble guy who could really hit back, get his hands on a side. Tagging and taking advantage of that. But for Sean Penn and he must feel he has a 10 round win in the bag. Why take chances? A show? That's his viewpoint. They're chanting, Go, Sean, go. A couple of wild, unforgettable summers in the 80s, he owned the city of Boston. The winner by unanimous decision. Sean Mannion scores unanimous decision, winning six rounds on all three car.

Sean is now 58. It's 22 years since he last fought.

So where is Sean now?

People ask me. The rocky of Rossmo is the Irish called them. Sean is doing the same job he did when he arrived from Ireland. He just has this pretty amazing tale to tell that stretches all the way to Madison Square Garden.

You know, every day Sean gets up at five thirty in the morning to work construction on building sites downtown Boston. And let me tell you, five thirty. I mean, you want to see the winters here.

I guess I'd better introduce myself. My name is Anthony Cardinality, and I've been involved in the boxing business all my life. I was Sean Manton's manager. And let me tell you some journey.

It's five 540 still dark.

He'll be around 550. They'll stop for coffee at the Dunkin Donuts near Field's corner. Sometimes the customers recognize Sean, but they're not quite sure from where.

Oh, you're all right. I work with a lot of fighters in my time, fighters are a tough breed by nature, believe me, but if all my fighters over the years, Sean, was the hardest, there's an ingrained toughness there. He had resolved. Fix my Blinco last night on video I did. It's like having her in the river, torturing the kids down to see them. The shutdown, as you say, in Irish. Yeah, they're not bad for you.

My school, Scavone. Once upon a time, anyone you'd bump into around here spoke the Irish Gaelic, and Sean still teaches the American guys on the site a few words.

On the sites, Sean has a reputation as a good worker, never misses a day a stand up guy. When a new guy arrives on the site, they point over to Sean. Oh, you don't see that heavyset Irish guy working the angle. Grinder spent two years sparring with Marvelous Marvin Hagler. Yeah, Ali's trainer, Angelo Dundee, said he's the best boxer to take a punch he'd ever seen. Who? The guy with the angle grinder. Yeah, him.

He was ranked number one in the world and he was never knocked down in 59 professional fights. And the reply is always, wow, I'd better not piss him off. We should sing the song for him to shot. You know, no one can sing, you know. Yeah, we will see you of. Oh, boy.

How are the guys on the side talk about the song? Some Irish guy wrote a ballad about Sean. Sometimes after work with a couple of drinks, they sing it. Sean would just smile in the corner. I concern tell from the bottom of it or not, thankfully, much of out of it. Martin Thornton is more martini, but not only on the Montana standard may call Shasha Norman smokers' model for an overall. Me, I've no idea what he's saying, but from what I take from it, I think he really likes Sean.

So someone listens on the first and all right, Sean model on the else. Woulda, coulda thought it was more of a no go like her. Take your whole team. Two, the audio bonds or.

In 1976, Rocky was the surprise hit of the year. Around the time Sylvester Stallone was appearing on screens, Sean Mannion walked off a building site in Boston and de Petronella, his gym in Brockton, was of from product.

We went out there and I just went out to watch Haggler Train and he was number one contender on the Petronella gym was basic, very basic.

But there was something special happening at that time. The gym was home to Marvelous Marvin Hagler, Rock and Robbie Sims in a world title contender Tony Petronella next to Tony Fratto.

He shouted out to the crowd, whoever it was was inspiring me to ensure whatever he has been. So it and nobody has the way everyone looked around.

The Irish guy, 17 year old Sean Mannion, in his work clothes, put his hand up.

Then I said I was surprised we go around with that. So I like my gear.

Why not? Tony? Petronella. He thought better than nothing. Sean got into the ring a few weeks before Petronella had been fighting the famous Wilfredo Benitez for the world title. Now, this kid we had to go for.

I mean, we ended up calling for him that night like there were tough rounds with Kevin.

And Sean didn't just go for rounds. They gave as good as they got. They traded like hell. Everyone in the gym looked around astonished. Who is this kid that's gone four rounds of Petronella? There's a great, great spot like, you know, after the fight you said, when are you going to get where we want to be? So I came the following night and up and he told me you should go professionally, that Sean would go pro.

.

It was the start of his journey towards Madison Square Garden. There's no place quite like it in the world, New York City tonight, Manhattan tonight, a world championship boxing. That journey to Madison Square Garden began in a place called Rossmo Turning Pro was a childhood ambition. It started back home in Connemara. Sean was the kind of kid who couldn't pass a mirror without stopping to shadowbox, years later, TV crews would visit his hometown and ask his old trainer, Mike Flaherty, and his mom about what they remember about the kid, Sean Mannion, when he was very anxious to learn, you know, the role.

And he was always at the goal doing something shadow, you know, trying to learn as good as he could. Can you remember who brought him here in the first place or why he he came on his own accord, right? Well, he had brothers, some of the brothers with him and neighbors. Yeah, and did he seem better than the rest at that stage after he after a couple of months? He did. He was improving. You know, he was stylish and he was able to pick up punches.

And you tell him you think he would and he and do.

Dude, I enjoyed that when he was like I knew they wouldn't hurt each other. But when he went years, I was scared they'd hurt each other. I liked them over in Boston and New York and the last two fights he had. But now, you know, he's well able to look after himself, don't you? That's his problem, I guess I hope he is anyways, still, I'm nervous about him. Well, what about when he was training, did you encourage him or did you try to get him to stay at home?

I told him to cut it out completely and his father, the dressed them, told them the same thing. But the answer he made is that he had they had just two hands like himself. John. Cha cha cha. Translate this for us in the house that Sean leaves every morning for work is the one he first arrived to in the 1970s. It's his sisters, a big three decker with a wooden balcony running like a belt around the middle.

I put my foot in it and I could. And we having to put it, OK, this is his sister, Eileen.

This is his grand niece, a tokin is not beneath.

Would you think you used to fight bloody battles against names that made people tremble like Gonzales and Leonard Frido and bake? But now Sean fights a daily battle to watch reruns of his favorite TV program, The Andy Griffith Show, his nemesis, the 12 year old kid.

Hey, he's me watching every single night, Andy Griffith not and I'm not going to watch anything, but when he's out, like, at the gym. That's my favorite part of the day. When I'm home, I get to watch TV.

The Andy Griffith Show was canceled in 1968.

The one time that he ever, like, just lets you watch the TV was like, if I'm if I really want to watch something bad, I think he'll let me like. And we watch the movie The Titanic. I never saw him cry before. And he was actually. Yes, he was. When Jack died, he cried the first time I ever saw him cry. And he was crying too. And I was carrying my.

People began to talk about this kid who just walked into a Brockton gym and sparred with Tony, Petronella, I spotted Shawn and Jimmy Connolly's gym in Southie when I was visiting a client, my mother's family, all my relatives and of course, my brothers sisters were born here, first generation Irish.

But I guess even like I got Irish from people telling me that I'm here in New York and I was always looking for talent, that's what boxing managers do.

This guy could move to punch lead with his right hand and bang with his left. And you could hit this kid with a tire iron and he'd still be standing there.

I could see he had something, but everyone else in the gym could see it as well.

He had a style that I have yet to see anywhere from any other boxers since he had the minford. He had the style for it and he had the big heart. You have to have those. It was tough. Extraordinary, extraordinary toughness, I mean, that you wouldn't see in anybody else. And here it was very skillful, great skill. You couldn't hurt him. And and he he was fearless.

You were a kid who was like, you know, I just wonder then and like, if I took a beating, I took a beating. But if I didn't, you know, it was like I was never intimidated. I was never afraid to go into the ring and I was never afraid of taking a beating if I had to make, you know. And I think that helped me a lot. A lot.

Like, you know, he I think he had he had all the advantages he had and he had everything.

And I signed him up because I thought he could go all the way. I lined up the fights and he started knocking guys out back, just following one poor guy after another.

Just one second fight and watching the fight only lasted 90 seconds. It's tough going.

I remember Sean's second fight. He emptied every bar and fields corner. It was green bedlam. Sean, Kayode, the guy in two. They are fighting the teachers union, all whether it's on the Columbia Road. Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Firefighters trying to open doors after that while it's becoming a little more fighting, even though he's 58 now.

Sean still goes to the gym. He's training a young pro from Southie. He's a tough middleweight like Sean, only tall with a tight haircut.

And you got to say he looks the part got away from the Golden Gloves. I was told after my people are brain dead by me, I probably never had the brain itself. But no, I don't think. I don't think. I don't think so. I don't think I have any injuries or anything from it. Just that I miss my boxing, like, you know, I mean, it's part of life. You go get older and that's said like, you can't we can't do anything about it, like, you know.

So, I mean, it's training people and all that is nice. But I mean, it's not like you like one injuring yourself, like, you know. Sean is driving here, so while he does, let me tell you a story about the early stages of Sean's career. He was 1982, he was fighting a junior middleweight and making his assent to a world title fight, and he decided to drop weight to fight a real tough Puerto Rican kid called Hector Poppo Figueroa from Hartford, Connecticut.

Sean believes you can make 147 pounds to fight Figueiro and held that weight throughout training, but on the day of the way and he got on the scale and he was seven pounds over. It looked like that was going to be the end of the night, but I asked Sean if he could lose the weight. He said, yeah, I can do it. We had about three hours, so Sean went back to the hotel, he ran a steaming hot shower and started jumping rope in the closed bathroom.

They did that for an hour and a half straight, wearing a rubber suit. He then came back to the arena, got on the scales, and he was still three pounds over. So with only an hour and a half or so left, Sean said he still wanted to try but the rubber suit back on and started running up and down the steps of the arena. About 30 minutes later, he weighed in again and was over by one pound.

At the scales, we asked Figueiro and his people to wave the pound, but they refused. With a fight about to occur and not having any options left. The boxing commissioner came over and said we should try giving him a really hard rubdown using alcohol. So Sean went into the dressing room in a seconds, worked on him for the next 30 minutes when he came out. He was red, blotchy, dehydrated, stark naked. We're only about half hour before the main event.

And the scales had to be put close to where the entrance was because of the flatness of the floor there, and people were walking by, coming into the arena to watch the main event. And there's Shaun on the scales naked. Everybody crowded around and Figueiro was right next to Sean watching the scale, wanted to see if the Galway man had shifted the power, Sean made the way exactly. And when he knew he made it, he turned to Figaro and right in his face said, Now you're fast.

I'm going to make you pay for every fucking pound. It was truly one of the most incredible things I've ever seen. Sean could have knock him out early, but he gave him what I call a measured beating to within an inch of his life for 10 rounds after spending his body like that to make the way no one had ever seen anything like it. If you're ever going to fall in love with Sean Mannion. That was the night. Sean was beginning to make a name for himself, his reputation gained him an edge.

There were lots of stories that he was a big drinker and a lot of guys didn't take him seriously.

They wouldn't take the face of the knew I was going to win. But there was a title like that. I was that I was in training and I wasn't ready to make it off. But I mean, I was always ready. It was also that I was training, but I didn't know that my manager put out words how he's never training, he's always thinking. And I said, OK, do whatever you want. But they I find out the hard way.

Do you think he should have put more work in his earlier years? Well, I think all sides should, but it's a tough, very, very difficult game. And with all the distractions around today, especially in the United States, who wants to spend three or four hours per day in a gymnasium? There's all kinds of things out there. They're not all good. And of course, they're not all bad either. But to, uh, dedicate yourself, it takes a little something extra rocky.

Friday was one of those people, a ranked fighter from upstate New York who had a big following and was being carefully worked into a title fight. He had heard all the stories about Shaun thought to be an easy payday for him, for the guy, Rocky Flats.

Only had two weeks notice, and he was the last American boxer Federation champion, and he was the United States champion with literary magazine who was all set up as a showcase for Rocky Frido.

The TV deal with ESPN star billing against a tough opponent that would showcase his skills only a different rocky would win.

I went to the gym by Manning, I think I hit him in the neck, Rockefeller sun gagging that hit him in the neck just under the chin, that drive. And young fighters, that's why you keep your chin down, and that is. They're on their feet here at the Sands Hotel, Shirvani, an Iraqi fresh, a great battle hugging each other. That was just terrific, Zach Clayton scoring at eight one at. So they're having Sean Manning winner by unanimous decision.

In one ESPN fight, Sean always like to hear Gaelic in the corner, and that's why his brother would be in the corner all the time and they would speak Gaelic, tell about the money, and the announcers had no idea what they were saying and remarked.

That's the heaviest Irish brogue we've ever heard. I didn't realize that they were actually speaking a different language.

So we're not going to say so. I guess. The USA shouts professionals.

The people began then to share Sean's dream, an Irish guy off the boat with a chance to fight for the title. From Connemara, certainly from Galway and from all parts of Ireland, but for Irish speakers in particular. Yeah, I mean, to have one of our own and competing for a fourth world title, there's something unique, something unheard of. It was. Absolutely. We were. We were thrilled, of course. My concern on the bottom of it or not, thankfully, much of out of it in Martin Thorntons for her martini after the hour and I'll on the Montanas, Montana's mayor, Tom Shasha, Normandy nostro smokers' Mardi Gras, as all managers do, all you need to take risks in order to get a title fight.

I knew there was a tough Korean guy named initial Baik who wanted to fight in America, generate publicity. He had built up a record that said most people running for cover. 26 fights, 26 knockouts. He was Korea's answer to Mike Tyson, and he was the number one contender in 1983, a fighter, another guy that I was supposed to talk to. He was the number one, the middleweight in the world.

He was 26 and over 26 knockouts. We took a gamble. Well, the fight was in Atlantic City, after all. I remember Shawn's old sparring partner, Marty Conroy, saying the rosary down in the back of the hall. You never know he's more tired than you are. OK. All right, the guy probably got jetlag in the stands. All right. OK. And speaking of women, that decision by cappucino, the age take a full round away from Baekje should not tarnish the work of short men.

He is very crafty tonight of here against the career. He's fought very well. This is the fight of his life. He told me today. This means everything to me in boxing because I can get a title shot and that he has fought that way tonight. He's been clever and he's fought with really a lot of determination. Halfway through the next. He took some shots from bank, especially Goodbody, early in the fight, withstood that pressure, then simply outfoxed him, and I think we can safely climb out onto the limb of controversy and predictive decision here for many.

I was only trying hard for him to feel like, you know, and I beat him and beat him pretty easily. And in New Jersey and after that fight, I think people have taken me seriously. And I'm like, you know. Sean was now the number two contender in the world. We were heading to New York for a world title fight Short had one tune up before his world title fight. In the middle of this so-called tuneup fight, the lights went out in the Cape Cod Coliseum with a few rounds to go.

Turned out Sean was boxing with a broken rib and a punctured lung. Some thought he was going to lose. There's all kinds of rumors about what happened. Legend has it that Vince McMahon Jr. flipped the switch, others say a miraculous storm knocked the power out. I remember someone else saying someone from Connemara found the fuse box. Either way, the power came back. Shawn regained his breath, battled on and won the decision. Still remains a controversial topic in the Mansion House.

I don't know.

I think it might have actually there was there was thunder in the air or something like that, it was I don't know, people of this nature had a collapsed lung and broken ribs.

And they said that that was a good thing, that the lights went out.

It was not like it was fired after one more round left, one round left on the chair. And I wasn't paying to be I wasn't paying when when when I would have stopped, the lights would be over faster. I don't have it here.

But it wasn't it wasn't it wasn't anybody that pulled the plug. I don't see that somebody the lower somebody did that. Nobody.

So all had to use our technology, never mind to plug myself included when I was thinking it was Vince McMahon that the promoter would I know. But whoever done damage to me, it was I had to wait five minutes to get the hang of whatever I can remember.

Are you kidding me? I was in pain. Did you see the fire? Yes. Is it the final burn that you will see before the lights went out? Well, I don't know why you didn't put that out there. Pre gave you.

It wasn't the last round. It was you gave me more five more minutes to do it and pay that one for it.

I would let it go through again.

I really don't care about his opponents. I care about showing Mannion and he's putting the extra just a little bit more than next door right now. And we're going to win it. And we're very confident. And I don't care what Mr. McCollum is doing, he may have to bring a gun into the ring if he's showing any. She would fight in Madison Square Garden for the title against Mike McCowan. There are two things I remember about the buildup. Sean always fought with the name Ross Mook emblazoned on his belt.

And even though someone offered him, if I recall, right, 15 or 20000 to put the name of a sports distributor on there, Sean refused, even though I asked him, we can put Ross book on the back and put Everlast on the front. But he he didn't want to hear it. And he went up to 25000 and I said, no, I have said I have a company. And already I said and my company said as a Rossbach, what they produce is a human being.

It was the kind of thing that you would expect would have been, you know, accepted without question. But I understood his loyalty and particularly how close he was to his hometown and he wouldn't have it any other way.

Morning, this is the final boarding call for. The arena was jammed with Irish fans and even put on extra trains from Boston and across the street from Madison Square Garden on 7th Avenue. Sean Mannion checks in to the hotel, the New York Penta Hotel. I just thought it must go back to all the men who have fought before them, the recent ones like Charlie Nitch, who fought for a world title for Johnny Cauldwell for rent money. And the list goes right back.

Four years. And here we are just a week after Barry McGuigan had his great triumph. And now we may be even going further for a world title. For what, Sean? I know I'm going to be fighting for maybe 20000 people for the first time ever been with such a big crowd. And the thing I'm nervous about is it's going to be shown live in Ireland. The first time ever I'd be seen as a professional. And I'm glad.

I know. I'm very glad you came over here to fire the fighters, to give to give people a chance to see me fight.

Shaun, what's the feeling at Madison Square Garden? That must be a magical feeling. Yeah, the feeling is very good. You know, the fighting in the same arena is great, like fighters like Muhammad Ali and Joe Frazier and Joe Lewis fight. And so. Um, I'm very happy you're fighting here and, um. They've got a lot of friends here in New York, but it's like here in the garden is something else and any special message.

Now, for at home, Australia is using technology for. Everywhere you go, people were talking about it. There was a lot of Irish around here at the time. Not anymore.

There's no place quite like it in the world, New York City tonight, Manhattan tonight, a world championship boxing first. Roberto Duran back making WBA junior middleweight crown, now fighting out of the city of New York. The number one contender, Mike McCallum, puts his undefeated record on the line. His opponent is the number two contender, Sean Mannion, originally from Ireland, now out of Boston. He, too, is desperate for the title. To borrow to get from Ireland without even asking me to sing the national anthem and that the up in the room see if they were singing it in English, I said, I want you to sing an Irish.

And we don't know that.

So I know somebody have chosen certain. The question came up about singing the national anthem, and Sean insisted that the Irish be sung but not only sung be sung in Gaelic. And he insisted on it or said he wouldn't get in the ring, so we had to kind of scramble to find someone that could do that.

So I know somebody has just like my sister, but I think I think she was more nervous about what for me, if I thought she was also singing the national anthem.

Dear Lord, thank you, Netsky. And today, I've got my hands on the negotiating table, and she was she is when she was a good singer, there was no need to watch the carols, any wish they could sing.

And the rest was stop Sheamus. The rescue was one that good and I'm best or worst.

But she did a great job, really. She did a good job. She was Gomaa.

And the referee from New York is Tony Parad. I know that Jack Cafferty once said the loneliest place in the world, he said, is inside the ring with the bell rings. And, uh, I didn't really know exactly what you meant, but you don't go to McCollom for it. That's what I like. That's what I thought. I told you that, you know, and, um, like the people of Ireland weren't putting pressure on me when I put it on myself.

I you know, I mean, I had an opportunity to have everything out of my head that was only going to be part me. I said I said I had the back in my head that make it for Ireland. I want to win the title for Ireland. And I was putting too much pressure on myself, like, you know.

And Sean walked into the ring, the place went wild. Crowd support here in favor of man, you hear them chanting, no need to win or to beat, need to get us to give them a final thought on who can stand back and try to box a guy behind the microphone. I can hear Sugar Ray saying that she needed to turn it into a brawl. And when it did, the Sean Bond guy let thousands of Irish like a conductor.

I couldn't understand what he was saying, but, man, was he getting excited about all of your money opening the. I had very good right hand man is her tries to fight back, the column is on and he's got a left handed and that bag catalogue would get back to the corner and look at his eye. And it was real puffy, but the cut was holding. And in short, mean, what are they saying? You're starting to feel good about your man and agree that he did.

So let's see what happens now. Right. Really? That's what he said. But in round nine, after taking some more punishment, Sean shook McCallum up with a punch. He pulled up from his bootlaces. The Jamaican staggered Sugar Ray stuttered. Sean Bond struggled to get the words out. Oh, come on. Come on. Well, I hope to see this young man has a harder line, but also he's out playing boxing. By the final round, Sean obviously needed a knockout, but I was just happy to see him finish on his feet.

The pictures are a thousand words. You only have to look at your man on one side of the room and Mike McCallum on the other to the one who lost his fight.

I spend most of my time in the bedroom that night and I don't know why I was I was nervous. But then and when I saw him after the fight, it was like, hmm, I started crying. And it was so he looked so bad. But he he really didn't get that what you would be eating.

But it just looked bad to us. Well, I don't know about anybody else, but I was heartbroken.

I was kind of embarrassed, I was heartbroken for those and not for those who were just for losing and shirts that we would that we had to get a world title for Ireland like that. That's what I was heartbroken about.

So that window to a bathroom down the street from not too far from Madison Square Garden, and it was all by going for us walk and I thought I was going to go down there. You know, if I can leave you with one picture of Sean Mannion story, that sums up the guy. The contradictions, the personality, it's probably what happened directly after that title fight, it lost.

SAT in the dressing room and he put his clothes on and went for a drink. Manhattan that night was Mattick. There were Irish everywhere for the fight. There was a line outside the Irish bar near the hotel, and everyone in that line was there because of Sean. But he took his place at the very back of that line. He just stood there waiting for the bouncer at the door, noticed him. Jesus, Sean, what are you doing?

Get in here.

Next thing you know. Oh, come on. You've got to come on the you know, the bottom here. And of course, when I was in there, all the lights were on. The people home or and they started shouting and I felt like I had won the title. And I was I was really embarrassed.

But that's what comes to mind when I think about Sean Mannion, a guy who just fought for a world title in Madison Square Garden. Then amid all the crowds, he just took his place quietly in the back of the line. Of course, he didn't come home for the week after the fight. No, you did not. It was a couple days, yes, but she was a couple. I had such a hard time getting her to go to bed.

I went to see Uncle John. I went to see him good.

There was no good. John finally came home and they were sleeping. And I said to him, don't wake them. He said, I already did. And and on your gut. And woke up and he was going over to Patrick and she said to Pat to talk to him, he loves to fight. That's the reason she wanted to stay in my back.