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Paddy Monaghan was born 19th February 1944 in the village of Ederney, Co. Fermanagh, Northern Ireland. When Paddy was 5 years old, his father, broke and desperately trying to make ends meet, uprooted the family to Abingdon, England. Often bullied and ridiculed as a young lad for his strong Northern Ireland accent, Paddy, determined that no one would push him around, and quickly learned to fight with ferocity beyond his years. This was the beginning of a long and renowned career as a bare-knuckle fighter. At a fighting weight of little more than 11 stone, Paddy Monaghan was not immediately as intimidating as bare-knuckle boxers like Lenny McLean or Roy Shaw. But if anyone dared to underestimate this man - as many foolish opponents did in the past - the full force of the hardest man in Ireland, a fine and ferocious fighting machine, would be unleashed. His unbroken record of 114 bare-knuckle fight wins is not only testimony to his exceptional strategic skill and fearsome punching ability, but also to his sheer determination and passion. Paddy Monaghan simply has something inside him that will not allow defeat.

Life has been far from easy for Monaghan. Although the Monaghan's were originally a wealthy, land-rich family, by the time Monaghan was born all of the family's money and land had been wasted away through fraud and gambling. Aged five, Monaghan received the grounding for his future as a fighter. A wiry youngster who was not willing to be pushed around, Paddy left school with a reputation for fighting. He had no qualifications, was unable to read or write, but was widely admired by most of his peers for going out of his way to defend the weaker boys. Many years later, once again refusing to be beaten, Paddy Monaghan's mother taught him how to read and write, beginning with the ABC books designed for infant children.

Monaghan, a staunch Muhammad Ali fan, displayed the same tenacity when he launched a one-man campaign to protest the stripping of Ali's boxing licence in 1967. Credited with coining the phrase 'Ali, the people's champion', Monaghan's actions came to the attention of the great man himself. And the next time Ali came to the UK Paddy was at Heathrow airport to Greet him, on a number of occasions after that Ali went to meet Monaghan at his council house in Abingdon. This, the first meeting of many, brought two men who were socially worlds apart together in a friendship based on mutual respect and admiration. Over the years rubbing shoulders with many a legend, Paddy Monaghan has an extraordinary story to tell. This remarkable autobiography gives a unique insight into Paddy's world of violence - a world he only ever entered in order to provide for his beloved wife and children.

Paddy Monaghan won the BKB middleweight championship of the world from French-Canadian Jean-Paul Durrell, from Quebec, on the 5th of May 1974, by way of an 8th round KO. I was presented with my beautiful BKB Championship belt.

In 1975 it was stolen from him in a crowded room in a New York hotel. He was chatting to some press guys that he was sent over to talk to about to drumming up some support for his forthcoming fight with Ferdi Chiocca from Chicago. and he had placed the belt down on a lounger, turned around to answer some questions, and when he went back to get his belt and someone had stolen it.

Recently one of the worlds greatest Martial Arts Grandmasters "Samuel Kwok" had an identical belt made for paddy by Massis Belts in New Jersey.