Starlet Shea ready for the spotlight

FAME comes in many forms but even as John Duddy prepares to grab the spotlight in front of a sell-out crowd of adoring fans at Madison Square Garden tomorrow night, a female boxer on the undercard can already claim she has been lauded at the Oscars.

While Derry’s middleweight star Duddy prepares to face American Anthony Bonsante at the Garden Theatre in defence of his IBA world and WBC Continental Americas crowns, Maureen Shea will step into the ring tomorrow night for the latest bout on her journey towards a title shot of her own.

The unbeaten 26-year-old superfeatherweight from the Bronx, with a father from Kerry and a Mexican mother, is ranked number one in the world by the WBA, and No 4 by the WBC after just nine professional fights and faces Eva Lidia Silva in a scheduled eight-round contest.