Egan eyes golden moment
“Kenny’s going to win this one and if not I’ll have one up on him,” his old sparring partner and erstwhile arch rival, Darren O’Neill, said last night.
“I boxed Zhang in the Gee Bee tournament in Tampere last year and I beat him and I will be very surprised if Kenny does not beat him as well.
“Kenny is a real class act and he will have too much class for the Chinese fighter. We’ll all be rooting for him down here in Paulstown – all of Kilkenny will be rooting for him.”
Egan turned in another stylish and efficient performance to outclass Tony Jeffries (Great Britain) 10-3 in yesterday’s semi-final and the quality of his performances is reflected in the fact that only seven points have been scored against him to date here.
And it was that stinginess that proved decisive yesterday when after sharing the first round 1-1, he went on to win the second 3-0, the third 4-0 and the last 2-0, with very few punches going astray.
“That’s what it’s all about,” he said. “I am not wasting loads of shots. Straight left hand – it scores for me all the time, the right hook sometimes.
“In all my four fights I did not waste much. I am a very accurate puncher. I don’t believe in throwing 30 shots to score two or three – throw four to score four. That’s what I have done in all my competitions and it is working for me here.”
The fact that he was throwing the punches from long range posed a huge problem for Jeffries, for whom Egan’s guard was virtually impossible to penetrate.
“I’m happy with the performance,” Egan said. “I wanted to keep it tight for the first round and I knew I was going to hurt him with the body shots. I was looking for the lead at the start and then just build on it.
“His shots were not very accurate and I just kept counter-punching and getting the lead. I think I boxed the perfect fight.’’
Egan learned before the fight that Darren Sutherland had lost, having watched Paddy Barnes being beaten.
“At the end of the day this is an individual sport,” he said. “The two boys are out and my heart goes out to them. It’s down to the last man again – the captain – all the pressure on the shoulders, here we go, first in – last out.
“I went out there totally focused – 100% – on the job in hand. I performed. That’s what I came here to do, to perform. I have performed four times. If I go out in the final now and if I perform 100% and get beatenI’ll shake the man’s hand, but I am not going to leave anything in that ring. I’ll have to be dragged out by the hair.”
While economical with his punches, Egan is a handful for most opponents.
“It is my story – southpaw right hook and straight left — scoring and not getting hit. The straight left is perfect for the counter punch. Southpaws are hard to box. They are awkward, you know, especially a good one: my head is getting bigger here.
“Throughout this tournament I stuck to the plan and it worked perfectly. It is just doing simple things right that’s all.”
Egan admitted he didn’t know much about the reaction back home in Ireland.
“I was talking briefly to my mother – the same thing again, house packed today again — cameras everywhere. I think they’re annoying her now at this stage.
“When I go home I think they’ll be locking the gate and there will be no one getting in at all. She is not at home on her own – she has her friends all around – but it is a bit of a pain in the ass for her.
“My father went home yesterday – probably landing now – could be in mid air but will get (to see) the final anyway.
“I am sure I’ll have the whole country behind me now at this stage, being the only man left.
“It has been a long haul here, myself and Billy and the lads, nice to take a break from the whole lot. It has been amazing so far. With a bit of luck now I can finish it off on Sunday.
“We’re going for gold and the supporters out here are super. Tonight I looked up there at the start and saw the crowd up there – all the mates and the lads who travelled over here – it is great to have them here with me.
“Unfortunately I don’t see them because I’m here to do business and they are here to go on the p**s and that’s fair enough. I am sure you’ll have lots of more stories when I go home.”
“A Chinaman in China, that’s a tall order,” coach Billy Walsh admitted after watching Zhang defeat Kazakhstan’s Yerkebulan Shynaliyev on countback after a 4-4 draw. “We saw it today – it’s difficult to get a score against him. But we have a chance. He’s orthodox and Kenny has all the artillery to beat him. It’s a 50-50 game.
“The way he’s (Egan’s) coped with the pressure of the past year — it’s been a credit to him. He’s been very proactive, he’s been very cool, because he’s enjoying it. Once he got the monkey that was qualification off his back he was happy — he could enjoy it. There was no pressure on him.”
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