Brian Magee heading to Panama City for July 30 preparations
Brian Magee is aiming to extend his stay in world level boxing on July 30 when the Lisburn super-middleweight ventures out to the exotic location of Costa Rica for a WBA interim shot at local hope Jaime Barboza.
Brian has been busy sparring middleweight Eamon O’Kane who has recorded two professional wins thus far (both by stoppage) and boasts a wealth of amateur experience including a gold medal at the 2010 Commonwealth Games in India.
“The thing about Barboza is that he’s a lot smaller than Brian and, since most of his career has been at light-middle and middleweight, he’s quicker than Brian’s recent opponents, so that’s the type of sparring Brian needs,” explained manager and namesake Pat Magee.
Brian and his team will arrive in Panama City on July 15, set up camp until July 27 and jet off to nearby Costa Rica ready for July 30. Brian’s coach Bernardo Checa is from Panama and the team will tap into his knowledge of the fight scene to ensure Magee settles into a gym as part of his final preparations for fight night.
The July 30 show, in the Gimnasio Nacional, San Jose, is a ‘KO drugs’ event organized by WBA president Gilberto Mendoza and Magee-Barboza will share the stage with the home town fighter’s hard-hitting compatriot Bryan Vazquez (super-featherweight) and Nicaraguan Elvin Perez (light-welterweight).
The away assignment is a very winnable proposition for the Irishman. Barboza holds a rather modest 17-4 (8 KOs) record and has done most of his work in and around the lesser weight regions, challenging (unsuccessfully) for the WBC Youth light-middleweight title just two fights ago. Quite what the 33-year-old was doing contesting a youth title is the WBC’s business, but Barboza was stopped for the first time in his career, by Jose Pinzon in eight rounds.
Meanwhile, Brian Magee’s sparring hand Eamon O’Kane is fresh from a fifth round retirement win over Tommy Tolan in Craigavon. O’Kane’s heavy body shots eventually wore down the rugged 37-year-old after a rough start and the Dungiven man is a good stylistic fit. Pat Magee has guided his own charge into some lucrative fights and this could prove to be a handy assignment, despite the fact that the team are required to travel.
“We’ve had two sparring sessions with Eamon,” added Pat, “whose style is not unlike the Costa Rican, he’s a middleweight and he is quick. The sparring has been very good and it’s been good for Eamon too.”
If Magee can pull off the win in Central America then a fight with WBA regular champion (don’t ask) Dmitri Sartison could be on the agenda. Brian’s stoppage loss in Canada to Lucien Bute has done minimal damage to his credibility and the 35-year-old former British and European ruler can still force his way into the title mix.
