The showdown between former light heavyweight contender Sullivan Barrera and Top Ten hometown favorite “Irish” Seanie Monaghan this Saturday, November 3 at the Aviator in Brooklyn, New York is shaping up to be a slugfest.
Below is the scouting report for this exciting match-up:
Category
Sullivan Barrera
“Irish” Seanie Monaghan
Age
36
37
Record
21-2-0 (14 KOs)
29-1-0 (17 KOs)
Strength
The former title challenger has a tremendous jab and a granite chin behind it. He has solid endurance and will come into this fight with championship experience over his opponent.
Monaghan is a fearless fighter with a big heart and even bigger right hand. He is aggressive and does a superb job of breaking down his opponents from start to finish.
Weakness
Sullivan has great technical boxing skills but also has a tendency to get into wild slugfests with his opposition. If he loses his composure in this one, then he may be falling right into his opponent’s trap.
Seanie has been somewhat inactive, this will be his first bout in 12 months. He also lacks the top-level opposition that his opponent has faced thus far.
Experience
Barrera has faced a number of title contenders in recent years, including a world title fight in his previous bout against Dmitry Bivol where he suffered his first career stoppage loss in the 12th and final round.
The Irishman has more professional bouts under his belt. However, Sullivan Barrera will be the toughest opponent he has faced in his career.
Power
Sullivan has a powerful jab and a devastating right hand that has been very influential in the majority of his stoppage wins.
Monaghan throws punches in bunches and has a devastating right hand that has ended the night for a number of his opponents.
Speed
The Cuban has average speed and maintains a steady pace throughout the fight.
Seanie has solid speed. He has quick hands and is effective at beating his opponent to the punch.
Endurance
Barrera’s endurance is just as good as anyone in the light heavyweight division. He has gone the distance with the likes of Joe Smith Jr, Andre Ward, Felix Valera, and many others
Monaghan’s endurance is one of his many strongpoints. He has gone a full 10 rounds on five separate occasions and keeps a healthy pace along the way.
Accuracy
Sullivan’s accuracy is on point when he gets his jab going and puts his punches together behind it.
Seanie’s style has allowed him to be an accurate puncher, he likes to close in on his opponents, leaving them with little room to run.
Defense
If Barrera commits to the jab, then it can be very effective in taking any fighter out of their element, making it that much more difficult to get anything going offensively.
His best defense is his offensive aggressiveness, he smothers his opponents with a high volume of punches.
Chin
Sullivan has a granite chin. He has been knocked down in prior bouts but has risen to the occasion. He has just one stoppage loss on his resume.
Seanie has a strong chin. He takes shots in order to dish them out but has only been stopped once in 30 professional bouts.
Style
Sullivan is an extremely tough and technical fighter that likes to stick his jab and set up his shots. He also has a brawling style that inevitably comes out when his opponents show that they are willing to engage.
The Irish slugger is an offensive-minded, aggressive, in-your-face fighter who likes to put on an action-packed fight and not leave it in the hands of the judges.
Intangibles
After coming up short in his first shot at a world title against current WBA Champion Dmitry Bivol, Barrera is wasting no time in getting back into the mix. His opponent has been a Top 10 ranked fighter for a long time, and for good reason. Sullivan fully understands that this fight is high risk, but it is even higher reward if he can pull out the win.
With each of the current titleholders in the light heavyweight division scheduled with fights, Monaghan is avoiding a tune-up bout to stay busy, but instead challenging one of the toughest 175 lb fighters in the world. He knows that a win here will leave no doubt in his abilities to compete with the best in the division and move him that much closer to a title shot.
Crowd Support
Although Barrera has competed in big fights in New York against top guys, he will be in Monaghan’s backyard.
Monaghan is a hometown hero and he is known to have a rabid fanbase.
The Match-up
- Will Monaghan be able to handle the power of Barrera?
- Is Sullivan the same fighter after the Bivol fight?
- Will Monaghan be able to handle Barrera’s boxing and come-forward style?
- Will Sullivan capitalize on this moment and show why he still belongs with the best?
