January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Lonergan wins bout, cash for charity
Lonergan wins bout, cash for charity
'The Lonster' was one of 18 amateur pugilists slugging it out in front of a sell-out crowd for the annual Teachers Rugby Club Fight Night - held this year at Berkeley following the demolition of long time venue Number One Shed.
And he said it had been an amazing buzz to get in the ring in front of a sell-out crowd.
Lonergan, who raised $2,000 for Atlantic Philantropy through his victory, said the cause he was fighting for as well as his own personal pride had driven him through, even when his legs started to fail in the third round.
"I was against a younger, better opponent, so it was just pure determination that got me through," said showman Lonergan, who entered the ring with an entourage of bikini-clad women.
The Island Press printer, who was part sponsored by the Bermuda Sun, won a points victory against Ryan Smith in the third bout of the night.
"I thought I'd lost. I wasn't counting punches and I honestly thought he'd won it, so it was a bit of a surprise when they said I had won.
"He was a great opponent and it was an honour to fight against him."
Lonergan said it had been a nerve racking experience in the changing room beforehand.
"It was pretty tense but coming through the crowd was a real buzz. Everyone was cheering and it just felt fantastic.
"When the bell went everything just went blank.
"People told me afterwards that everyone was cheering the whole way through. I couldn't hear or see anything apart from my opponent.
"It was just the pure adrenaline of the fight, nothing else mattered.
"There was a lot riding on it because I knew if I won I'd raise a lot more money for the kids.
"The first round was fine, the second round was quite testing, by the third round I was really feeling it. It was just my head that was keeping me going."
When the fight was over and Lonergan was declared the winner everything came back into focus again.
"Everyone was cheering. I had a lot of people rooting for me and I could feel my head getting bigger. I almost burst into tears. I couldn't believe I had won."
Lonergan, who is part of the Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Bermuda charity, raised cash for its parent organization Atlantic Philantropy. His 'little brother' Lewis, seven, was too young to come to watch the fight but has been to a couple of training sessions and Lonergan plans to get him a DVD of the bout.
"He's going to be a good little boxer himself," said Lonergan, who insisted his foray into boxing was mostly about raising money for kids.
"There was a little bit of pride involved but it was all about the kids really. It's a pleasure to raise money for kids and to try and teach them that you can really do anything if you put your mind to it."
Lonergan intends to carry on training with Controversy Gym and thanked Chucky Renaud and his team - Shaun Weaver, Leo Richardson and Tim O'Leary - for their advice.
""They're just too good. I'll definitely be sticking with Controversy for my next fight," said Lonergan, who also received tips from his friend - British pro boxer Mat Legg.[[In-content Ad]]
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