O'Grady - Page 4
Sean O’Grady fought and won four times in 1982, all by stoppage. O’Grady took on Eugene Baldwin, 5-30-0, in his first fight after losing to Ganigan, stopping him in four rounds. Next up, Lupe Sanchez, sporting a 0-5-0 record, was knocked out cold in three rounds. Two more wins over Jose Hernandez (11-10-0) and Orin Butler (0-2-0) convinced O’Grady’s management to test the waters by signing on for a fight against 30-year-old veteran Pete Ranzany. Ranzany, 57-7 -2, had lost two of his last three fights, dropping a split decision to Pat Hallacy and losing a unanimous decision to Milton McCrory; but was still regarded as a solid stepping stone.
The bout was promoted by none other than Rocky Balboa (Stallone’s first attempt at promotion) and fittingly took place at Caesar’s Palace in Las Vegas. O’Grady, who never gave anything he did, less than his best, matched the rugged Ranzany punch for punch.
When the bout ended after ten grueling rounds, O’Grady stood in ring center and watched referee Richard Steele, raise Ranzany’s hand. While judge Duane Ford scored the fight even 95-95, he was overruled by Lou Tabat (94-97) and Chuck Minker (93-97) and O’Grady closed out 1982 a loser via split decision.
O’Grady opened 1983 with a win over Jose Luis Gonzalez (1-9-1). Less than a month later, O’Grady climbed into the ring to do battle with John “The Heat” Verderosa. O’Grady hit the canvas twice in Round 4 ending the bout in a TKO loss for O’Grady. It also concluded O’Grady’s professional boxing career.
Just how good was Sean O’Grady? A final record of 81-5-0 with 70 knockouts to his credit against 4 suffered would seem to indicate a highly successful career, one worthy of at least consideration for the Boxing Hall of Fame. The record, as implied in this article, was the product of smoke and mirrors.
Analyze O’Grady’s career fight-by-fight and here’s what you get:
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The average record of ALL O'Grady's opponents: 12-9-1
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O'Grady fought only 23 fighters with winning records, 27% of his bouts.
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O'Grady fought 19 fighters making their debut, 22% of his bouts.
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Of O’Grady’s 5 losses, 4 came by KO.
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Out of 836 scheduled rounds, O’Grady fought only 327 or 3.8 rounds per fight, thanks to subpar competition throughout his 8-year career.
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O’Grady fought nine tough opponents out of his 86 bouts: Tony Sanchez, Arturo Leon, Romeo Anaya, Danny Lopez, Jim Watt, Hilmer Kenty, Andy Ganigan, Pete Ranzany and John Verderosa. His record against these legitimate adversaries: 4-5-0.
A better question than how good was Sean O’Grady would be how good Sean O’Grady could have been had his career not been handled primarily by his dad, Bob O’Grady. Had the “Bubblegum Kid” followed the typical career path, learning early in his career while improving the caliber of his competition as he did, it’s not out of the question that O’Grady might be ranked as a Top 15 or Top 20 lightweight. He had the all the tools: boxing ability, power, charisma, uniqueness, intelligence, courage, and the desire to win.
Fortunately, Sean O’Grady became a highly successful and popular broadcaster. O’Grady’s insight into the sport along with his good looks, speaking ability, and constantly upbeat personality created a demand for Sean’s presence at ringside. Following and 8-year stint behind the microphone, O’Grady became and remains a highly competent commercial realtor.
