Like so many of his fellow Irish boxers, amateur standout Thomas O’Toole is following the green and gold path from Ireland to Boston, after signing a managerial contract with Ryan Roach’s Fighter Locker.
The 23-year-old O’Toole is a promising light heavyweight prospect who captured top honors at the 2019 Irish Elite Championships. Last year, the Irish southpaw upset pre-tournament favorite Tony Browne in semifinals of the Irish Elite Championships, and he lost by split decision in the final to Emmet Brennan, who is representing Ireland in Tokyo at the Olympics.
Irish boxer who’ve moved to the Boston area as a base for their professional careers include WBO World Super Middleweight Champion Stevie “Celtic Warrior” Collins (36-3, 21 KOs – 1986-97), WBA World light middleweight title challenger Sean Mannion (42-14-1, 13 KOs) – 1979-93), and heavyweight Kevin “The Clones Colossus” McBride (35-10-1 (29 KOs) – 1992-2011), best known as the man who knocked “Iron” Mike Tyson into retirement.
“I’ve only heard good things about Ryan, and I like the family aspect he talked about for his fighters,” O’Toole explained why he signed with Fighter Locker. “I know every manager will talk about how they will take care of you, but I really believed you, and I trust you will get a great promoter for me when the time comes. Plus, you have some Olympians, so you’re not taking just any and all fighters to sign. You want champions, which was the main thing for me. Knowing I’m in a stable with Olympians/national champions is great.
“I always intended to turn pro after Tokyo and had interest in waiting around for 2024 (next Olympics in Paris). It all worked out. I achieved more than I had hoped as an amateur an at just 23, I can’t wait to see what the next few years bring.”
O’Toole is tentatively scheduled to make his pro debut September 25th in Boston.
“Signing Thomas was very special to me,” manager Ryan Roach said. “He is one of the best in Ireland and in a very elite class. We talked a few times and we really hit it off. Last Friday, he shot me a message saying, ‘I’m all yours.’ I was ecstatic.
He really is a great fighter with a lot of skill. He’s a southpaw with some serious pop. Thomas is very young, so we will see which weight class suits him well. Boxing fans in New England, particularly in Boston, will love him. He’s a great person and fighter.”
Fighter Locker’s growing stable of gifted boxers include California super flyweight Rocco “So Cal Kid” Santomauro (21-1, 6 KOs), Troy, NY ABF American West super lightweight Ray Jay “The Destroyer” Bermudez (12-0, 9 KOs), ABF USA super welterweight Jimmy “Quiet Storm” Williams (18-5-2, 6 KOs), ABF American West super middleweight champion “The Amazing” Shawn McCalman (8-0, 4 KOs), super bantamweight Daniel “G.D.F.E.” Bailey, Jr. (7-0, 4 KOs), lightweight Leonel de los Santos (3-0, 3 KOs), a 2-time Dominican Republic Olympian, Boston featherweight Troy Anderson, Jr. (1-0, 1 KO), pro-debuting Dominican Republic welterweight Juan Solano, Salt Lake City, 2016 Brazilian Olympic silver medalist Yuberjen Martinez, Brazilian Olympian Jorge Vivas, Colorado super middleweight Marvin “Too Much” Cordova, Jr. (23-2-1, 12 KOs), West Palm Beach, FL light heavyweight Robert Daniels, Jr. (4-0, 4 KOs), Utah brothers, ABF American West lightweight champion Ignacio Chairez (9-0-1, 5 KOs) and lightweight Gabriel Chairez (4-0-1, 2 KOs).
INFORMATION:
WEBSITE: fighterlocker.com, punch4parkinsons.com
FACEBOOK: /fighterlocker
TWITTER: @RoachRyan
INSTAGRAM: @RyanRoach82
ABOUT FIGHTER LOCKER: Established in 2019, Fighter Locker is a comprehensive sports agency that manages professional boxers. Fighter Locker also helps to brand boxers by finding their voice with a 100-percent customized service. Fighter Locker does not really believe in working models. It believes in partnership optimization models in motion.
Fighter Locker uses four creative steps because it believes in “the foundation is everything”: 1. wisely conceived, 2. creatively restrained, 3. Proudly judged, 4. sharply targeted.
