David Hopper of 8CN caught up with junior welterweight Danny O’Connor (17-1, 5 KOs). In his last bout, the 27-year-old southpaw defeated Daniel Sostre at the House of Blues in Boston.
DH: Talk about your performance against Sostre last month.
DO: I think it was a great performance. Me and coach Ronnie Shields had a game plan that we worked on in the gym. We put in a lot of hard work in getting ready for him. We watched film. We took him very seriously as an opponent. I think that my performance was up to par for the night. I think it was very good. I think that it opened a lot of people’s eyes coming to see me fight, coming to see the new me under Ronnie Shields.
DH: What’s it like working with Ronnie Shields?
DO: It’s amazing. Being in the gym with coach Ronnie really is a different level of boxing. He just makes you that much better. I’m bettering myself as a fighter and as a person just being around coach Ronnie.
DH: How do you feel like you’ve improved under Shields?
DO: I just feel like a completely different fighter and a completely different person. Coach Ronnie really is the best of the best. I’m learning every second I’m around him. I think that’s the key in anything when you’re trying to better yourself and to improve yourself. Keep learning and keep getting better and better. Everyday being in the gym with him I’m learning something new. There’s always a reason for learning. There’s no wasted movements. It’s just understanding what you’re doing in the ring. I definitely feel like a completely different fighter now.
DH: What does a typical day of training under Shields consist of?
DO: It’s not too much variation to a boxing workout. It’s either mitts or sparring or double end bag. It’s all in the same, and then I have another workout of strength and conditioning with a strength and conditioning coach that I have down in Texas. His name is Rick Karasche. My boxing workout will be in the morning. My first session is boxing. My strength and conditioning will be more in the afternoon time. Hard work is a lifestyle man. I’m always working hard so don’t be surprised if I add another workout in there. At nighttime I’ll go for a run. I love the pool. I’m always swimming. I’m always trying to change it up. I’m actually about to bang out a yoga session here in a few minutes.
DH: There’s a lot of talent at 140. Is there anyone you really want to fight?
DO: No, a lot of people ask me that question. There really is no one that I’m trying to sit back here and call out. There’s no names that pop up at the top of my head. I just want to fight at the elite level. I want to fight for a world championship belt, pay-per-views. I want to be at that elite level so any fighter that’s up there I’d like to match my skills up against theirs someday. That’s the ultimate goal.
DH: When do you expect to fight for a world title?
DO: Hopefully some time shortly, not too far from the future. I’m managed now by Ken Casey of the (Irish-American punk rock band) Dropkick Murphys. He being a Boston boy and me being from the Boston area we’re really trying to bring the sport of boxing back to Boston. I think the House of Blues (fight against Sostre) this past week was kind of the kick off point to that. I think there will be a lot of action in the boxing world up north for a while.
DH: Talk more about your association with the Dropkick Murphys and the impact they’ve made on your career.
DO: The impact they’ve made on my career is crucial. Ken Casey is an amazing guy along with all the members of the Dropkick Murphys. They’ve taken me under their wing from Day 1 and treated me like family. They mean the world to me. I met him through working a charity. He has a charity called The Claddagh Fund. I was doing work for them. We met and we struck up a friendship. Music is really similar to boxing industry wise. It was kind of a natural fit for him to be running my career. It’s just nice to have someone who cares about you and your best interests so I can just do my job and train.
DH: Have you built a big following in the Boston area?
DO: I have. I have my own fans and I have a lot of the Dropkick Murphys fans who have branched off from the band and become Danny O fans. I have a group of small businesses in the area. It’s called Clan O’Connor. You can join that to be a sponsor of me. It really is an extra motivation having all the support from here. It’s amazing. I got my Twitter account and my Facebook. I get people reaching out to me daily. It’s such an amazing feeling to have these people support me the way they do. I really wouldn’t be anywhere if it wasn’t for the fans. That’s why I make it a point to anybody that talks to me on Twitter or Facebook or e-mails I always reply to everybody because I think that if they take the time to reach out to talk to me I absolutely have the time to talk back.
DH: How would you describe your fighting style?
DO: Whatever it needs to be to get the job done (laughs). I’m a really skillful boxer. Well, I thought I was a really skillful boxer until I met Ronnie. Ronnie really let me know what the word boxing meant. So now I think the best thing in a fight situation is fight the way you can be best but be prepared to fight in any situation.
DH: Do you have a favorite punch or combination?
DO: Any one that lands clean (laughs). No nothing favorite. I’m a good boxer, really skillful. I’m very smart in the ring. Obviously I’m a lefty so that helps a lot. I’m a very accurate puncher. Coach Ronnie has really been molding my game into sitting on my punches, getting some more power. Really turning me into a professional. No wasted movement. Every punch counts. I feel more like a professional every day that I’m working with coach Ronnie.
DH: Your only loss was a decision to Gabriel Bracero last year. What did you take away from that setback?
DO: It just wasn’t my night. I had a lot of health issues that really dictated the outcome of the fight. It’s not like I can go back and say ‘Well, if you trained harder here or if you did this there,’ it wasn’t like that. I always fully put every effort in to everything. It’s kind of like it was just one of those circumstances where it was just out of my hands. So what I took away from that fight was to be able to let things go and to move on. It wasn’t my night. There was nothing I could do about it. I lost but I’m not going to sit here and dwell about that loss the rest of my career. A great man, coach Ronnie, once told me if I’m stuck in the past I won’t be able to see the future.
DH: What is it you like to do in your free time when you’re not boxing? I read that you have a young son.
DO: Yeah, that (my son) is my personal time when I’m not boxing. I have a wife. I just got married last Wednesday night actually. Her name is Diane. Funny story. You know boxing is a tough way to make a living. I have no money. I’m a poor kid. Me and Diane’s theme of the wedding was ‘You don’t have to have money to be in love,’ so we got from the quarter machines at Toys “R” Us we got two rings. We got married in Boston just us two with those rings in the ceremony, so it was pretty cool. I do have a 1-year-old son Liam. That is my spare time when I’m not in the gym. They come with me everywhere. What better way to be motivated than to have the people that motivate you the most standing right next to you every single day. Diane, she comes to the gym with me, she’ll hang out while I’m working out. She’s even been at the track holding the stopwatch for me. That is my life. They are my life.
DH: What’s your prediction for the Pacquiao- Bradley fight?
DO: Bradley.
DH: Do you think he’ll stop Pacquiao or will it go to a decision?
DO: I don’t know if he’ll stop him. I’m not going to predict that. I’m going to go with Bradley because I think that he’s kind of underrated. You got to understand that he doesn’t get that record for doing nothing. I think that he’s going to surprise a lot of people.
DH: What’s next for you? Do you have a fight scheduled?
DO: I don’t have an exact date but listen, I’m a workout beast. I was in the gym the day after that fight (with Sostre). I’m ready to go. They’re trying to get me something for either July or August.
DH: Anything you want to add or say to your fans?
DO: I’ve honestly got to thank them. My fans are so amazing. It’s such an overwhelming feeling waking up and hopping on Twitter and having 9 or 10 people talking to me and being able to reply to me. Having my fans come out and support me. It’s a really a special thing to have people support you and support what you do and believe in you.
