Emmet Brennan celebrates defeating Jamie Morrissey in their BUI Celtic light-heavyweight bout at the 3Arena in Dublin. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Dec. 5, 2024 By Colum Motherway
Irish boxer Emmet Brennan is looking to extend his professional record to 5-0 on Friday, Dec. 6, when he takes on Victor Hugo Exner in Astoria.
Brennan will fight in Melrose Ballroom, while a pre- and post-fight party will be hosted at The Wolfhound, an Astoria neighborhood pub. The event starts at 5 p.m. in the pub, and Irish singer Stiofan will perform live music.
The 33-year-old fighter represented Ireland at the 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics. Since then, he began his professional career with four wins out of four, most recently beating fellow Irishman Kevin Cronin in Dublin in September.
In March, Brennan was in New York fighting Devaun Lee at the Sony Hall in Manhattan. He admitted that he ‘stupidly’ fought with a fractured hand, but the opportunity to fight in New York was too good to turn down. Nevertheless, Brennan prevailed with a majority points decision after eight rounds.
Now that he is back for his second New York fight, Brennan ensured he was ‘100% ready’ before taking the fight and is looking forward to the occasion.
“I’ve had a good camp for this. The last six to seven weeks, we’ve been hard at it. We did four weeks in Dublin, then the last few weeks over here,” Brennan told QNS. “I couldn’t really be more ready for Friday. I don’t think it’s possible to be more ready.”
The Dublin-born boxer knows he has a ‘tough’ opponent in his way, with Exner holding a strong reputation as a ‘durable journeyman’ who is ‘no pushover.’ However, this only adds to Brennan’s focus ahead of the intense bout.
Emmet Brennan punches Jamie Morrissey during the Ireland Celtic Heavyweight fight Photo by James Chance/Getty Images
Brennan explained that while training for the fight, his preparations were slightly more structured in Dublin than in New York. He would stick to his boxing club in Dublin for ‘four to five nights a week’ before coming to a city with more traveling between different clubs, but he ‘makes it work.’
“Probably going forward, if I were based here, I would have just one club that I’m training out of, maybe in the city, where 90% of the training would be done, and then I’d go to different gyms every now and again. The structure probably wasn’t great, but I made it work,” he added.
Brennan lived in Astoria for a while in 2021, and even though it didn’t work out at the time, he admitted that he was ‘hooked on the New York dream from being around the Irish community in Astoria.’
“Just looking at so many people doing well and so many people have an opportunity they mightn’t have back home. 99% of the Irish people over here are grafting for the opportunity of a better life and just a chance to make something of themselves,” he explained.
This is one of the main motivations for Brennan’s return to Queens, with the chance to show the many Irish people in Astoria what he can do once more.
2025 looks set to be a big year for Brennan, with a St. Patrick’s Day fight in Madison Square Garden looking like his next venture into the ring after Friday night.
“There has been no official confirmation, but I’ve agreed to a fight on my end for Paddy’s weekend in MSG. It’d be very, very easy to look past this opponent on Friday night and think of the bigger picture, but I have to stay focused and tuned in on Friday night first of all,” he added.
Featured Events
