By Pattee Mak | January 21, 2011
Who says girls can’t live in a man’s world. Nicole Polizzi better known as “Snooki” from the Jersey Shore aka Team Snooki Boxing in conjunction with Final Round Promotions will be presenting “The Irish Invasion” that will be featuring Patrick “Pajo The Punisher” Hyland at the Resorts Casino Hotel in Atlantic City on January 28, 2012.
The undefeated Hyland (24-0-0, 11 kos) who presently resides in New York will be fighting Emmanuel Lucero (26-8-1, 14 kos) and plans to keep his winning streak going with a victory. His amateur record consisted of about 150 fights in Ireland and his pro debut was on September 24, 2004 against Dean Ward in Dublin, Ireland. He has been a road warrior ever since fighting mostly overseas, and his fight against Lucero will be his fourth in the United States alone.
I had the pleasure to speak with 28-year-old Hyland about his upcoming fight via the telephone:
Pattee Mak: Hello!! It’s so nice to chat with you.
Pattee Mak: Your fight is next weekend on the 28th. Are you mentally prepared for it?
Hyland: Yes I’m mentally prepared for the fight. I’ve been here since September of last year. I’m all excited and ready for it on the 28th.
Pattee Mak: What can you tell me about your opponent Emmanuel Lucero?
Hyland: My opponent is a good come forward aggressive player but he’s small and sluggish. He also tries to knock out his opponent. He challenged and been in the ring and was scheduled to fight Manny Pacquiao for 12 rounds [Lucero lost to Pacquiao in round 3 by TKO]. He’s been in there with good opposition. I’m not taking him for granted.
Pattee Mak: Where are you currently training and who is training you?
Hyland: I’m currently training up in Kingston, New York at Mac Fitness. My trainer is Tracy Patterson. He’s a 2x world champion.
Pattee Mak: Do you prefer the trainers in the U.S. or in Ireland?
Hyland: All my life my father has been training me different aspects of the game. I wanted to be based in America. My father is at home in Ireland so I made the move myself to get the good trainers and good fights.
Pattee Mak: What type of boxing experience does your father have?
Hyland: He’s fought as an amateur. He’s more of a coach. In 1990 he started his own boxing gym called Golden Cobra Boxing Gym. His uncle trained him. He’s more of a coach than a boxer.
Pattee Mak: Your last fight on 8-12-2011 against Fabrizio Trotta in Ireland. You won by TKO in the 4th round out of 8. I believe in the 4th round you originally hit him with a left to the body and followed with a right. After the fight resumed and within seconds you landed another left to the body and the bout was stopped. What do you remember about this fight?
Hyland: It was an aggressive fight with great authority. There was a lot on clinching. There is a bit of anger in me and he couldn’t take the body shots, which was good on my part.
Pattee Mak: Your brothers Paul and Eddie Hyland will also be fighting on the same card. Is this the first time that the 3 of you have fought on the same venue?
Hyland: No. We done it back in Ireland. Three Irish boys will be fighting on the card so I’m excited about it.
Pattee Mak: Will your immediate family be attending this event?
Hyland: Yes my mother, girl friend and brother’s wife. My girl lives here with me.
Pattee Mak: Do you have a big following in the U.S. or mostly in Ireland?
Hyland: I’m only over here a little bit in the U.S. but I have a big f
ollowing in Ireland. I have a good support back home.
Pattee Mak: Pajo The Punisher? Tell me how this came about.
Hyland: Pajo came up because my middle name is Patrick Joseph instead of being called PJ they made it as Pajo. The punisher because I love Marvel Comics and The Punisher is one of my favorites and I like to punish my opponents in the ring when I get a chance.
Pattee Mak: Well with a record of 24-0 the name suits you just fine.
Pattee Mak: You have won many belts. The WBF featherweight title, Irish featherweight title, IBF International featherweight title and the International Boxing Association Intercontinental super featherweight title. What would you like to say about each of them?
Hyland: I’m happy to have had the opportunity to fight for all of them. I want to step up the ladder to fight for the bigger organization belts for a major world title.
Pattee Mak: Any more belts you planning on going after?
Hyland: I’m not chasing anyone down. Whoever has the world title at my weight I’ll be challenging off the big players. There isn’t anyone in particular at the moment.
Pattee Mak: After this fight with Lucero who are you planning on looking to fight?
Hyland: We haven’t planned ahead. I never look past my current opponent. I’m just focusing on Lucero right now.
Pattee Mak: I’m sure everyone wants to know how in the world did you ended up the main event on a show that Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi is promoting.
Hyland: One of the guys I know knows her father Andy. Andy wanted to get involved so he talked with Nicole and she also wanted to get involved.
Pattee Mak: I believe this will be Nicole “Snooki” Polizzi first show that she is promoting. How do you see her as a promoter?
Hyland: I feel good and confident in her as a promoter. She has a large fan base and she works well with the media. Her father and everyone involved are excited to explore this. I’m glad to be a part of it.
Pattee Mak: Besides boxing, what else do you like to do in your free time?
Hyland: Usually most of the time I’m training and when I’m not training I spend time with my girl friend, walk my dogs, go to movies or just chill out with my girl friend.
Pattee Mak: Thank you so much for taking the time to speak with me. Is there anything else you’d like to add?
Hyland: I Hope all the fans will come out to see the fight and will enjoy it. If not they can watch it on line at www.behindthering.com.
In addition to Patrick Hyland and Emmanuel Lucero being on the card, Derric Rossy, Paul Hyland, Eddie Hyland, Chazz McDowell and Phil Nazario are all scheduled to fight.
All fighters and bouts subject to change.
Should you have any questions, suggestions or comments feel free to comment below or locate me on www.facebook/pattemak.com.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
