Emmet Brennan secured his fifth professional win in Astoria. Photos by Colum Motherway
Dec. 10, 2024 By Colum Motherway
Emmet Brennan fought to a triumphant fifth professional victory in Astoria on Friday, Dec. 6, with a unanimous decision over Argentinian boxer Victor Hugo Exner.
Brennan extended his perfect professional record to 5-0 in front of an energetic crowd at the Melrose Ballroom on 36-08 33rd St, with a large Irish contingent cheering him on.
The Dublin native’s arm was raised after six tough rounds with a worthy opponent. Still, Brennan admitted he enjoyed the challenge rather than taking a fight with someone who he believes he would have knocked out relatively quickly.
Brennan was happy to be tested for the full six rounds
“You want to be at fights like that, and they set you up for bigger fights,” he said. “We got the opportunity of three other fights that I would’ve knocked out in the first round, but we insisted on getting this lad (Exner) in because we knew we were going to get six rounds out of him.”
“He was tough. He took some big shots, especially in the first round, but going forward, you want that experience, with getting six rounds in, for the fights ahead.”
Brennan was thrilled with his first round, which he mainly dominated, but he felt that in the second round, he fell back slightly after picking up a minor injury with his right hand.
“I didn’t really throw the right hand as much in the fight, and after that, it was pretty much just about banking the rounds, not taking too much damage but at the same time not throwing the right hand quite as much,” Brennan explained.
“It could have gone a lot better, it could have gone a lot smoother, but I was happy with the performance and I was happy with the six rounds.”
Brennan had a huge Irish support in the venue
The crowd was extra noisy when Brennan took to the ring, with a large chunk of the supporters either coming over from Ireland or being Irish and living in New York.
There were chants of ‘olé, olé, olé,’ – a familiar sound at Irish sporting events – throughout Brennan’s bout and significant cheers when the verdict was announced.
“When I fought in March (in Manhattan), I had a similar crowd, but there was probably a few more this time. It was a little bit of a smaller venue this time that held the atmosphere a little bit better, but that’s something that you’ll never get used to. People cheering your name, coming out and supporting you, you’re always so grateful,” Brennan stated.
Brennan went on to credit Joe Byrne, who set up the tickets for the fight and was responsible for bringing a lot of the Irish crowd to the venue. Byrne helps to promote Brennan’s fights and ‘without him that (the huge support) wouldn’t be possible.’
“For me, to know that people are spending their hard-earned money and they’re coming out on a Friday night to see me, again, that’s why we took on that opponent and not one of the easier fights because you don’t want people spending their hard-earned money to just see me knock someone out that’s not going to put up a fight,” he added.
“You want someone to come and see you being tested against someone that’s going to come to win.”
Brennan described the whole night as a ‘very humbling experience’ as he tried to find the right words to explain what an event like that meant to him.
Brennan won by unanimous decision
He has a plan for 2025 to help increase crowd sizes and boxing entertainment for the Irish community in New York after it has slowed down in recent years.
“Joe and I’s overall plan over the next five years is to have a few huge Irish nights, myself involved, and then bring a few boxers in behind me. You need those crowds, like on Friday night, to keep on building and building and ensure that in two or three years, the crowds are going to be – instead of 200 to 250 – into the thousands,” Brennan said.
Next up for the 33-year-old is “a 99% chance” that he will be fighting in Madison Square Garden around the St. Patrick’s Day weekend in March.
He revealed that he has been in contact with the promoter for that particular event, and there are ongoing talks to get the fight sorted out “in the next week or two.”
“It probably won’t be confirmed until the actual show is published by the promoter, but it’s promising, and I can’t see it not happening to be honest,” Brennan added.
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