Facts about Dennis 'The Menace' McCann
Ahead of his 16th professional bout and fourth consecutive championship contest, BBN have listed a wealth of facts about super-bantam star Dennis McCann (14-0, 8KO).
The Maidstone 'Menace' meets Romanian 'Upsetter' Ionut Baluta (16-4, 3KO) on Friday, August 18, at the York Hall in Bethnal Green, live on TNT Sports.
Find out everything you need to know about the top prospect below:
Dennis McCann was born on January 8, 2001, currently aged 22. From a travelling background, he was born in Maidstone, Kent, where he still resides.
He started going to boxing gyms at the age of three because his older brother was boxing. He recalls being a bit of a rebel and running around the boxing gym slapping everyone. He admits to being a bit of a naughty kid and getting into fights at school, but was never a bully. In fact, he claims it was the bullies that he used to fight and beat up.
His older brother, Johnny McCann, won multiple national titles as an amateur, and their father also boxed.
He believes his little brother, Richard McCann, only 11-years-old, is going to become the best boxer in the family. He currently boxes for West Ham ABC and is already a national champion as of May 2023.
Dennis was selected to represent the famous Repton Boxing Club in London at the age of 10, trained by Bobby Beck, who sadly passed in January 2022. At the time, his family was living near Birmingham, so he had to travel for over two hours to get there, then go back again on the train. So he decided to drop out of school and work with his dad in roofing. He recalls, “I was going to work for my Dad on building sites roofing by that age. I used to go to work in the morning, graft away and then leave for training because it took a good few hours for me to get there. I had to drop out of school to get to where I am now.”
His amateur record was 50-4, 16KO.
He won nine national championships as an amateur, which included the schoolboys, the British championships twice, the junior ABAs twice, the youth ABAs twice, and the NABC championships three times.
Plus, he won a bronze medal at the European Games in Russia. He remembers there being over 4,000 very hostile spectators in the crowd.
He also won the prestigious Haringey Box Cup in 2018.
He was beaten by Scottish boxer Stephen Black in the Three Nations Youth & Junior Championships Finals in 2017. Other winners that year included Adam Azim, Hopey Price, Chloe Watson, Joshua and Charles Frankham.
The youngster was picked for the European championships in September 2018 and also had a Team GB assessment that December, but chose to turn pro instead. His reason being, “I did the amateurs to be a professional and when I got this opportunity [to sign with Frank Warren] I took it with both hands. I could have made the Olympics but people have different goals in life and mine is to be a professional boxer under the lights and hopefully become a world champion one day.”
He was on the England Team with Junaid Bostan, who is now a 6-0 super-welterweight.
He signed professional contracts with Hall of Fame promoter, Frank Warren, on March 26, 2019.
His professional debut awas gainst Kamil Jaworek on May 18, 2019 on the undercard of Billy Joe Saunders successful attempt at becoming a two-weight world titleholder. He said of his pro bow, “That night was brilliant. A traveler like myself and like Billy Joe Saunders, who was having a world title fight on the card. There must’ve been a thousand people there for me and it was wild and electric. Obviously, I was a bit nervous because I never fought without a headguard before. I was used to fighting with 10-ounce gloves and I had a transition over to 8-ounce gloves. All it takes in those small gloves is one shot and it is game over.”
He trains with Alan Smith and Eddie Lamm out of the iBox Gym in Bromley, Kent, and former pro, Iain Weaver, is also part of the coaching team.
His S&C coach is Louis Plumridge, who holds the world record for completing a 26.2 mile tyre flip! His nutritionist is Carl Evans, and Paul Taylor does his wraps on fight night.
His boxing nickname is 'The Menace' and has often sported the familiar red and black Dennis the Menace stripes on his fight kit.
So far in his pro career, he has won three titles – WBO Youth super-bantamweight; WBC International featherweight; Commonwealth super-bantamweight.
He has sparred with Olympian Michael Conlan; world champs Joe Cordina, Charlie Edwards and Ryan Burnett; stablemate Ryan Garner; 9-0 Albanian Muhamet Qamili; 12-0 teammate Pierce O'Leary; 11-0 stablemate Henry Turner; world title contender Lee McGregor; former British, European and Commonwealth champions, Jason Cunningham and Martin J Ward; British title contender Chris Bourke; WBO Global champ Archie Sharp; 11-0 featherweight Louie Lynn. He has also sparred with his future foe, Ionut Baluta, back in November 2021.
Having began boxing aged three, dropping out of school and working on the roofs at 11, he describes himself as always being a very mature kid and isn't scared of anyone as a result, apart from one person: "I’m not scared of anyone except my Dad. I still fear a beating off him!"
Despite being just 5' 7", he drives a huge Range Rover Sport. Prior to that, he had a BMW convertible.
The slick southpaw likes to have fun with his boxing training, sometimes seen bouncing a basketball around the ring to work on his footwork and hand-eye coordination, and also training in just pink gloves and boxer shorts!
Living not too far away from the coast, he likes to do a bit of coldwater sea swimming in Whitstable.
His main sponsor is Watches R Us, from Hatton Garden. He has also been sponsored by Wow Hydrate; Excel Waste Management; Food Fusion Nutrition; DNA Insurance; and Rankins Jewellers, amongst others.
He is a huge fan of Haribo sweets, but he also loves to order a Domino's pizza after fight nights. He has a bit of a sweet tooth and loves to feast on retro sweets like Double Dip; popping candy; flying saucers; Love Hearts; Warheads; Sour Patch Kids; Wonka Bar chocolate; and he loves the Birthday Cake flavoured Oreos.
Dennis is friends with 2-0 super-lightweight Joseph Abercrombie; 7-0 light-heavyweight Lewis Edmondson; 10-0 heavyweight Johnny Fisher; 9-0 light-heavyweight James Hawley; IBF world flyweight champ, Sunny Edwards; and former Arsenal and Millwall footballer, Benik Afobe.
One of his best friends, Johnboy Cash, tragically passed away in 2021. He also suffered with the loss of his cousin, Quhey Saunders, who died very young.
He got married in 2021 and has a young daughter, Kathleen, born in October 2022. He is also an uncle to Jimmy McCann, born in September 2020.
The jetsetter loves to relax on holiday, travelling abroad often to Dubai; Marbella; Portugal; Tenerife; Cyprus; Mexico.
The sportsman also likes Go-Karting, swimming, tough mudders, and is a Man Utd fan.
What has Frank Warren said?
“He’s got a tremendous eye; his defense is good, and he’s got all the things that remind me of Naseem Hamed. I’m not saying he’s a copy of a Naz but the confidence, the hand speed and all that movement and power, he’s got all of those things.”
Things you didn't know about Ionut Baluta
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