Sean O'Bradaigh was a narrow points loser to veteran Adrian Frometa in their SBC Elite Men’s light heavyweight amateur championship match at the Stereo Garden in Patchogue, Long Island, last Saturday.
One of the top 176-pounders in the nation, O'Bradaigh was aiming to add the SBC belt to the New York Boxing Tournament Elite light heavyweight title and Ring Masters/Golden Gloves middleweight crown he holds. Out of the Bronxchester BC, Frometa added the SBC accolade to his New York Metropolitan trophy.
“It was a relatively close fight,” O'Bradaigh told the Echo. “He [had] a big second round -- had a big moment when he landed a big shot and hurt me. Then he started teeing off, but I was able to recompose myself. So he had a big second round. The first and third rounds were very close.
“My corner thought that I won the first and third rounds. I kind of knew before the decision that they were going to give it to him, but overall, it was a close fight. He wasn't that much better than me. I’ve fought much higher competition. It just wasn't my night, but I expect to fight him again in the Ringmasters in the coming months, and yeah, [there] were no knock downs.
The fight didn't go according to plan, O'Bradaigh conceded.
“I wasn't as mobile on my feet as I wanted to be. I was a little tense, but it was a great venue [with] almost 1,000 people there. It was packed. There was Joe Smith Jr., the former [world] light heavyweight champion of the world, awarding some of the belts. It was a great atmosphere.”
O'Bradaigh reiterated that his goal remains to capture the SBC belt. “But I'm gonna need to prove myself again on the local stage, including the Ringmasters, and I expect Adrian Frometa to be my main foe for that as I've beaten most of the others.
“So, I'm just excited to have another rival, another mission, another challenge, and it's just a reminder that things don't come easily,” he added.
“The first time around, to win my two championships, I had to work super hard, work extra hard and that's what I had to do [again] Leading up to this fight, I did everything right but it just wasn't enough so I'm gonna work even harder next time and I expect to beat him in the rematch cause he wasn't significantly better than me. It was a close fight and I think I can beat him next time.”
In addition to his domestic titles, O'Bradaigh came close to qualifying for this summer’s Olympic Games in Paris for both U.S. and Irish teams. He was a top four finisher at the National Championships in Texas last summer. That earned him an invitation to the Olympic trials in Colorado and, later, a wild card shot.
In between those two trials, O'Bradaigh, whose father has Dublin roots, participated in the National Elite Championships in Dublin with a spot on the Irish team to Paris beckoning. He lost to European light heavyweight titlist Gabriel Dossen in the semi-finals.
