Seanie Monaghan returning to the ring at Barclays Center

Long Beach pro boxer putting first career loss at Nassau Coliseum behind him

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Shortly after his first career defeat in July, professional boxer Seanie Monaghan said that he wanted to get back into the ring right away.

After a highly publicized bout against his former sparring partner, Marcus Browne, at the new Nassau Coliseum ended early in the second round, Monaghan began training almost immediately at the Freeport PAL with his trainer, Joe Higgins.

“I was haunted by that loss throughout the summer — every morning I woke up, it was driving me nuts,” the light heavyweight said. “It’s a big change going from an undefeated fighter to a guy who got blown out in two rounds. It was different — you could tell people didn’t know what to say. But I’m the same guy now that I was before that fight. I wanted to fight again right away.”

Monaghan (28-1, 17 knockouts) will step back into the ring at Barclays Center on Nov. 4 to face Colombia’s Evert Bravo (23-6-1, 17 KOs) in an eight-round bout before a WBC heavyweight title rematch between Deontay Wilder and Bermane Stiverne.

“He’s known to be a hard hitter,” PJ Kavanagh, Monaghan’s manager, said of Bravo. “Seanie was very anxious to get back into the ring — he wanted to put that last fight behind him and get busy. We’re looking for a great show — the other guy is definitely a tough opponent, but Seanie is confident he could win.”

Monaghan had one of his best career wins at Barclays; in 2014, he scored a knock down in the fourth round when he dropped opponent Elvir Muriqi.

Most didn’t expect Monaghan, at age 36, to return to the ring so quickly.

But fellow Long Island boxer Chris Algieri and others expressed their support and encouraged him to fight again, Monaghan said. And Monaghan — who began his professional career in 2010 and went on to clinch the North American Boxing Organization and WBC Continental Americas light heavyweight titles — said he wasn’t ready to call it quits. He thanked promoter Lou DiBella for allowing him to get back in the ring.

“They all agreed it was the right move,” Monaghan said. “I didn’t want it to end that way. I got back in the gym and I’m a little extra nasty than I used to be. I’m the youngest 36-year-old there is out there.”

Friends and fans in Long Beach said that they never doubted that Monaghan would fight again.

“We couldn’t be more proud of Seanie Monaghan for once again showing his fans that nothing can stop him,” said Miguel Rodriguez, coach of the Long Beach Gladiators wrestling team. “He is exactly what our young generation needs to see. His last fight didn’t go his way but that’s not stopping him from stepping back into the ring. You win some, you lose some; the heart of a real champion is not shown by his words but his actions. We can’t wait to see him in action once again. He will always be the people’s champ, and Long Beach will always be in his corner — no matter what the results are.”