JERSEY CITY, NJ (Sept. 21, 2009) – Lightweight prospect Danny “Little Mac” McDermott will face unbeaten prospect Hector Marengo on the undercard of the Juan Manuel Lopez vs. Rogers Mtagwa WBO super bantamweight title fight at the WaMu Theater at the historic Madison Square Garden. The show, entitled “Island Warriors: Latin Fury 12”, will be promoted by Top Rank.
McDermott, 8-1 (3 KO) of Jersey City, NJ, will be making his third ring appearance of the year. McDermott picked up the biggest win of his career in his last bout, knocking out 9-2 Floriano Pagliara in two rounds. McDermott’s amateur career consisted of 50+ bouts but most of his experience came from sparring with champions Gatti, Bones Adams and Paul Malignaggi, among others.
“I’m very happy to be back in Madison Square Garden,” says McDermott, who fought his second pro bout in the hallowed venue in 2005. “I was very upset that I had to pull out of my last fight in July when my uncle Larry Antionetti and close friend Arturo Gatti passed away. My mind is clear now and I’m a man on a mission. I’m dedicating this fight to both of them. I’m in great shape already. We can do this fight tomorrow.”
Marengo, 5-0-3 (3 KO) of Aricebo, Puerto Rico, is making his third appearance this year as well but has been winless so far. Marengo’s last two fights have ended in draws against journeyman Angel Rodriguez.
“I know this kid is trying to rebound off of his draws but his ‘0’ is going to go. I’m going to make a statement by beating him up bad. I’m going to butcher this boy. I’m in killer mentality right now. In my eyes this kid is trying to hurt my son and family. Everything I’ve worked so hard for he’s trying to take away from me. He’s going to pay with his life.”
McDermott is trained by Mike Skowronski at the Passaic PAL where he has been sparring with Henry Crawford, Jeremy Bryan, Victor Valenzuela, among others. Skowronski feels that this fight is more a step-up for Marengo than it is for McDermott.
“This is a good fight for Danny at this stage of his career,” Skowronski says. “I wasn’t worried about this fight at all when they offered it, I jumped all over it. Danny has looked good his last couple of fights. Training around a lot of good talent has been rubbing off on him.”
“The pressure is on him. He’s the undefeated guy that has come close to defeat three times. After October 10 he doesn’t have to worry about the pressure anymore because he’ll have his first loss, and perhaps his last fight as well.
“I look at this as a back alley Hell’s Kitchen street fight for my life; kill or be killed. I’m ready to die in the ring and put it all on the line. This isn’t a sporting event to me, it’s a fight. When you’re from the street you don’t fight to win, you fight to kill. Forget boxing, you’re going to see old school fighting on October 10.”
Tickets are priced at $250, $150, $75 and $50, and will be available at the MSG box office, the arena’s web site TheGarden.com, and all Ticketmaster outlets.
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