Oisín Fagan, (born 24 December 1973)

nickname A nickname is a substitute for the proper name of a familiar person, place or thing. Commonly used to express affection, a form of endearment, and sometimes amusement, it can also be used to express defamation of character. As a concept, it is ...

d ''"Gael Force"'', is an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

based in

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

, U.S., who fought in the light welterweight and

lightweight Lightweight is a weight class in combat sports and rowing. Boxing Professional boxing The lightweight division is over 130 pounds (59 kilograms) and up to 135 pounds (61.2 kilograms) weight class in the sport of boxing. Notable lightweight ...

divisions.

Background

Although a native

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 c ...

er from

Tallaght ) , image_skyline = TallaghtDublinD24.jpg , image_caption = Tallaght, Dublin , image_flag = , flag_size = , pushpin_map = Dublin#Ireland , pushpin_label_position = left , ...

, Oisín (pronounced "Usheen" ) Fagan, a grade school teacher by profession, is based in Oklahoma. At the age of 12, Fagan moved to

Portmarnock Portmarnock () is a coastal suburban settlement in Fingal, Ireland, with significant beaches, a modest commercial core and inland residential estates, and two golf courses, including one of Ireland's best-known golf clubs. , the population was ...

and began to play for a number of football clubs such as, Glebe North, St. Malachy's and Portmarnock F.C. Fagan then travelled to the US on a football (soccer)

scholarship A scholarship is a form of financial aid awarded to students for further education. Generally, scholarships are awarded based on a set of criteria such as academic merit, diversity and inclusion, athletic skill, and financial need. Scholars ...

to undertake

Bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

s in

Physical Education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorat ...

and Political

Journalism Journalism is the production and distribution of reports on the interaction of events, facts, ideas, and people that are the " news of the day" and that informs society to at least some degree. The word, a noun, applies to the occupation (pro ...

at the

University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma The University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma (USAO) is a public liberal arts college in Chickasha, Oklahoma. It is the only public college in Oklahoma with a strictly liberal arts–focused curriculum and is a member of the Council of Public ...

. During his time at university Fagan was twice awarded the All American Scholar Athlete award, as well as chosen to represent the regional All Star team. Following the completion of his degrees course Fagan then turned his attention towards boxing.

Professional career

Debut fights

Fagan had only three fights in his amateur career before turning professional in February 2003, winning his first fight at the AMC Flea Market in

, when he knocked out fellow debutant Sheldon Mosley. Fagan's first loss came against Isaac Mendoza in July 2003. Mendoza gave Fagan which broke his nose and cheekbone in three places. Fagan refused to have the fight stopped until the bout was over however with ten seconds to go in the fight the referee called a halt to the fight due to the loss of blood. After Fagan's first nine pro fights he had a patchy record of six wins and three losses including a points defeat to

Julio César Chávez Jr. Julio César Chávez Carrasco (born 16 February 1986), best known as Julio César Chávez Jr., is a Mexican professional boxer who held the WBC middleweight title from 2011 to 2012. He is the son of former three-division world champion of bo ...

Following this mediocre start to his career and a defeat to Derrick Moon in October 2004, Fagan had considered quitting boxing but was encouraged to continue by former world champion

Wayne McCullough Wayne Pocket Rocket McCullough (born Wayne William McCullough; 7 July 1970) is a former professional boxer from Northern Ireland who competed from 1993 to 2008. He held the WBC bantamweight title from 1995 to 1997, becoming the first boxer fr ...

. Fagan then went to train with McCullough and found a new drive behind his boxing and decided to give boxing one final chance.

Oklahoma State lightweight title

Fagan then fought for his first title belt in December 2004 against Lee Cargle for the vacant

Oklahoma State Oklahoma (; Choctaw: ; chr, ᎣᎧᎳᎰᎹ, ''Okalahoma'' ) is a state in the South Central region of the United States, bordered by Texas on the south and west, Kansas on the north, Missouri on the northeast, Arkansas on the east, New ...

title. The venue was sold out and the atmosphere was charged. Cargle landed the first meaningful blows of the fight when he caught Fagan with a surprise right hand, which landed flush on his jaw. Fagan thought the fight was over but shuck it off and returned with a number of flurries to win the opening round. Fagan continued to throw

jab A jab is a type of punch used in martial arts. Several variations of the jab exist, but every jab shares these characteristics: while in a fighting stance, the lead fist is thrown straight ahead and the arm is fully extended from the side of ...

s to the body and the head and controlled much of the middle of the fight. In the third after Fagan almost floored Cargle, Cargle smiled at Fagan and said ''"man, I'm not going anywhere - you ain't knocking me out!"'' to which Fagan laughed and replied ''"maybe not, but I'm gonna try my best"''. Cargle began to

showboat A showboat, or show boat, was a floating theater that traveled along the waterways of the United States, especially along the Mississippi and Ohio rivers, to bring culture and entertainment to the inhabitants of river frontiers. Showboats were a ...

in the fourth and pushed Fagan hard in the fifth but Fagan was again dominant in the sixth and final round when he caught Cargle with combination and landed a straight right which cut with opponent. Despite the tough fight Fagan took the title belt by unanimous decision with a margin of 60-54 on all score cards. The venue erupted on hearing the decision with table top celebrations and

Irish tricolour The national flag of Ireland ( ga, bratach na hÉireann), frequently referred to in Ireland as 'the tricolour' () and elsewhere as the Irish tricolour is a vertical tricolour of green (at the hoist), white and orange. The proportions of the ...

s waving as Fagan was swamped by his cheering school pupils.

Irish light welterweight title

After winning the Oklahoma State title, Fagan went on a run. Seven straight wins before he was handed a shot at the vacant Irish light welterweight title in June 2006. The Irish title had been vacated by unbeaten fellow Dubliner Robbie Murray to allow Fagan and

Peter McDonagh Peter McDonagh (born 22 December 1977) is an Irish professional boxer. Controversial Irish title fight against Michael Gomez McDonagh fought Michael Gomez on 28 January 2006 for the Irish lightweight title on the undercard of a Bernard Dunne ...

to fight for the title. However, McDonagh pulled out of the fight and Fagan faced Jeff Thomas for the title. Fagan was furious over McDonagh's withdrawal, stating; An angry Fagan won the Irish title in front of his friends and family with a knockout victory in round seven against Thomas at the

National Stadium Many countries have a national sport stadium, which typically serves as the primary or exclusive home for one or more of a country's national representative sports teams. The term is most often used in reference to an association football stadiu ...

, Dublin.

Spadafora fight

Fagan returned to the US after winning the Irish title and defeated Brian Paul in Tulsa with a second round KO. He then earned a shot at highly touted and unbeaten former IBF lightweight title holder

Paul Spadafora Paul Ross Spadafora (born September 5, 1975) is an American retired professional boxer. He is the former International Boxing Federation, IBF lightweight champion of the world, and has challenged once for a light welterweight world title. Perso ...

. In March 2007, Fagan suffered a loss to

in a split decision over ten rounds.

Khan fight

In December 2008, Fagan faced Britain's Amir Khan at the London ExCel Arena. Khan dominated the whole the fight and stopped Fagan in the 2nd round. Fagan was also knocked down twice in the 1st round by a quick fury of punches from Khan. Fagan's corner threw in the towel early during the 2nd. It was later revealed that Fagan had broken his

leg A leg is a weight-bearing and locomotive anatomical structure, usually having a columnar shape. During locomotion, legs function as "extensible struts". The combination of movements at all joints can be modeled as a single, linear element ca ...

as a result of the first knockdown and this seriously hurt his balance.Fagan: Fighting on one leg
/ref>

External links

*
Oisin Fagan interview
on

KFOR-TV KFOR-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Independent station (North America), independent station KAUT-TV (channel ...

for St. Patrick's Day

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fagan, Oisin 1973 births Living people Sportspeople from County Dublin Irish male boxers University of Science and Arts of Oklahoma alumni Light-welterweight boxers