Long Beach's Seanie Monaghan to fight at new Coliseum

Long Beach resident and professional boxer "Irish" Seanie Monaghan was just a kid when the last boxing event was held at the original Nassau Coliseum in 1986, where an up-and-coming fighter named Mike Tyson knocked out Steve Zouski in the third round.

Tyson remained undefeated at 19-0 after the fight, and other boxing greats, such as George Foreman, Joe Frazier and Roberto Duran, also battled at the sports complex.

“I just thought it was cool that Tyson fought here in general,” Monaghan, 35, said of the former heavyweight champion as he stood inside the new arena. “I do my track workouts here twice a week, right out there staring at this place, so I’ve been imagining myself fighting here [for] forever. As a kid, I used to come to concerts here and Islanders games.”

Monaghan’s dream of fighting at the Coliseum will come true on July 15, when the light heavyweight, who is undefeated at 28-0 with 17 knockouts, will step into the ring at NYCB LIVE, home of the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum. It is considered one of his most important career bouts since he turned pro in 2010.

The event will mark a new era of boxing on Long Island, event organizers say. For the first time in 31 years, the sport will mark its return at the new sports complex, featuring Monaghan and a number of other Long Island fighters on the undercard.

“The crowd is going to be completely packed when I’m in the ring,” said Monaghan, who draws hundreds of supporters from Long Beach, known as Team Monaghan. “Tickets have been flying already. We’re six weeks out and promoters have already been calling me, saying, ‘Wow, these tickets are flying like wild fire.’ If there was ever a fight to be at, this is the one. There’s going to be a big tailgate party in the parking lot before the fight.”

The fights, a Premier Boxing Champions on FOX event, were announced at a news conference at the new arena on Tuesday and will kick off the new Brooklyn Boxing on Long Island series, in which Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment, the company that operates Barclays Center, will hold several fights a year at the new Coliseum.

“When we envisioned recreating and reimagining the Coliseum, the goal was to fuel it with world-class programming,” said Brett Yorkmark, chief executive officer of Brooklyn Sports & Entertainment. “It’s not just about bringing world-class fighters here. It’s also about being able to be somewhat aspirational, where the fight community here on Long Island can grow up dreaming of fighting here at the Coliseum, and I’m thrilled that we’re able to do that for Seanie and some of the other members of the undercard.”

Though the main event will feature junior middleweights Robert Guerrero and Omar Figueroa, neither attended Tuesday’s press event, and the focus was squarely on Monaghan’s bout against his sparring partner of 10 years, Marcus Browne, a former Olympian from Staten Island, which was billed as one of the most anticipated fights at the new facility.

“The undercard is going to be tremendous,” said promoter Lou DiBella. “We really have made an emphasis to make some great fights on the undercard that features Long Island talent.”

Among them are Alicia “The Empress” Napoleon, a Lindenhurst native and the WBC silver super welterweight world champion, as well as boxers Tommy Rainone, a former Elmont resident, Patrick Day and Vincenzo D’Angelo.

“I’m excited to be one of the first women to fight here, in my hometown,” Napoleon said. “Like they said, 1986 was the last time they had boxing here, and that was the year I was born, and it’s almost like I was destined to be the first woman to fight in Nassau Coliseum and especially for a world title, so I’m ecstatic. We are not just female fighters — we are athletes, and we deserve equal opportunity and equal spotlight. It’s just a wonderful feeling to be on this card with a lot of great athletes and Long Islanders.”

Monaghan, a former bricklayer, is the current North American Boxing Organization and WBC Continental Americas light heavyweight champion, and organizers said a win could lead to a shot at the world title, an opportunity that DiBella said has eluded Monaghan in recent years.

“He’s been looking for a title shot for a long time and looking for a big pay day that he’s earned, and it didn’t pan out,” said DiBella, who described Monaghan as the “Pride of Long Island” and the “Irish Rocky.” “He’s been in a lot of wars, and he’s paying a lot of dues. The winner of this fight, you can bank on the fact that they’re going to get a huge fight for the light heavyweight championship of the world.”

Browne is 19-0 with 14 knockouts, and the two sparred together ahead of Browne’s fight at Barclay’s Center in February. Their bout has been described as the “Battle of the Islands,” and though Monaghan said he wasn’t thrilled to face his friend, he said he couldn’t pass on a chance at a world title.

“This is a very important fight. There’s a lot on the line,” Monaghan said. “The winner gets the big one. It’s life and death for me. This is going to be a big, exciting night.”

Tickets can be purchased at www.ticketmaster.com (type in Seanie Monaghan), www.nycblive.com, or by calling (800) 745-3000.