Brutally honest Marcus Browne eyes championship glory

Marcus Browne is aiming to become Staten Island’s first ever world champion prizefighter, and for a win against New York rival Sean Monaghan

It’s been a generally curious, at times frustrating and most recently cathartic year-and-a-half for light heavyweight contender Marcus Browne, who is rapidly closing in on a championship fight in an exciting division stacked with elite veterans, established contenders and talented upstarts. And if Browne (19-0, 14 KOs) has his way, his upcoming clash against fellow unbeaten New Yorker Sean Monaghan will cement his status as the undisputed bluechip challenger at 175 pounds.

Back in April of 2016, Browne stumbled against then-unbeaten Radivoje Kalajdzic (22-1, 15 KOs), despite the cushion of a questionable knockdown in the opening round. In the sixth, Browne was dropped, and many felt the split verdict rendered in favor of the 2012 U.S. Olympian was egregious. The criticism of both Browne’s performance and the judging was intense, with some writing Browne off as a hyped pretender.

Assessments of boxing prospects tend to be borderline irrational and brutally ad hominem. And while Browne — with his Olympic and amateur pedigree, Al Haymon/Premier Boxing Champions backing and gaudy knockout record — was an easy target for cynical fans, no one was more blunt in their evaluation of the Kalajdzic fight than Browne himself.

“When you look like shit, you get treated like shit,” Browne told FanSided over the phone.

That kind of brutal reflection is atypical amongst undefeated contenders sporting the promotional muscle to skillfully guide them toward a title shot. For Marcus Browne, the Kalajdzic bout led to a 10-month layoff — by far the longest of his career. During this stretch, Browne realized that another middling performance, especially given his immense talent, was unacceptable.

Browne’s determination to fulfill his potential and his love of boxing was also rekindled over the course of his hiatus from live combat, and when he was finally set to return against heavy-handed contender Thomas Williams Jr., the stakes were immense and the odds seemingly stacked against him. “I felt like people wrote me off from one performance,” Browne said. “But that’s boxing, and that’s how it goes.”

Indeed, the brutal Williams fight, which Browne won via knockout in round six, proved to be a turning point — albeit one somewhat overshadowed by Browne hitting Williams (20-3, 14 KOs) in the opening round after he’d been forced to a knee. But regardless of how one feels about that foul, and how it impacted the rest of the fight, Browne asserted himself from the opening bell, displaying none of the tentative lapses from his previous outing.

If some had wondered whether Browne was fragile after Kalajdzic had wobbled and dropped him, the confident New Yorker proved he can bite down on his mouthpiece and fight with sharpened edges. Although Browne concedes that he could have gone to the body more against Williams, he’s ultimately satisfied with his performance and feels it revitalized a briefly dormant swagger inside the ring. Still, he isn’t resting on the laurels of one win versus a fighter coming off a KO loss, even if it was against WBC champion Adonis Stevenson.

“It was a decent performance, and it basically got me back in the direction we wanted to be in,” Browne said. “That’s basically it. You know, I’m not living off it – one fight. This is boxing. You’re only as good as your last performance. I’m just focused on making this fight a better one.”

Marcus Browne’s path to representing the United States at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, England, and now to the precipice of world title glory started in Staten Island’s notorious Park Hill apartment complex where Browne, as a 13-year-old, literally followed one of his friends to the local gym.

“I had this friend and I used to see him go to the gym with his bags, but I never used to really know what he was doing,” Browne recalled. “I used to hear whispers of people calling him ‘speedy’ and things of that nature. I actually followed him to the gym one day and met my trainer Gary Starks Sr. when I was thirteen. The rest is, I guess, history.”

In a rough and hardscrabble milieu, boxing can be both an outlet and refuge, and Marcus Browne found success early on fighting and training under the umbrella of the Police Athletic League, which unfortunately stopped sponsoring the boxing program six years into Browne’s amateur career. It was then that the Atlas Cops and Kids program became a community staple, with Patty Russo and Gary Stark Sr., who trains Browne, serving as stalwarts.

Browne describes his relationship with longtime trainer Stark as a “father-son” bond, stating that their ability to be blunt when assessing training progress or one of Browne’s fights is crucial to their shared success. “I’m a first class citizen – I’m a first class New Yorker – because of my trainer Gary Stark Sr.,” Browne said, emphasizing that Stark has taught him as much about life as he has about boxing.

Although the 2012 men’s Olympic boxing team failed to secure a medal in London, the squad has started to make inroads at the championship level in the paid ranks. Rau’shee Warren briefly held a world title and remains a compelling contender, and Errol Spence Jr. recently strutted into Kell Brook’s backyard to wrest the Sheffield man’s IBF welterweight title via grueling stoppage in a star-making performance. If everything continues to progress as planned, Browne will be the next 2012 graduate to hoist a glittering title belt; Browne knows, though, that the Monaghan bout must viewed as a de facto championship fight if he’s to prevail.

Browne and Monaghan (28-0, 17 KOs) both came up through New York’s amateur gauntlet and have sparred extensively. However, Browne is a decided favorite and by far the more gifted fighter, which should offset Monaghan’s rugged, yeoman approach to prizefighting. There’s also the reality that Monaghan, at 35, is unlikely to produce something drastically different from what Browne has experienced with him in the gym. And yet, Monaghan remains the type of grinding fighter who can out-work and out-hustle a more naturally talented foe.

“I’ve got to break him down and do it systematically,” Browne said. “That game plan has already been worked out. Right now I’m already ready. I could have fought today; I could have fought last week.”

Although Marcus Browne admits he isn’t entering the same sort of hostile environment that rudely greeted Olympic teammate Spence, the Monaghan bout, which will take place at the Nassau Coliseum, is technically in the Long Islander’s backyard. Regardless, Browne plans to silence any partisan Monaghan supporters early, and the chance to face some extracurricular adversity once the fight starts is another important step in Browne’s development.

All that said, the crowds, accomplishments and accolades haven’t changed Marcus Browne, who remains that kid from Staten Island — devoted to his mother and young family — quietly making history. In fact, a humble Browne even politely downplayed July 6 being officially declared “Marcus Browne Day” by Borough Hall on Staten Island, asserting that he hasn’t even come close to accomplishing his goals. And it’s that kind of drive and self-assessment that he’ll need to maintain as this next phase of his career unfolds.

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“That right there doesn’t mean anything. That’s going to collect dust. I guess it’ll go in some type of history book. But I’m trying to make real history, and that’s to become the first world champion from Staten Island.”

Here is how you can watch Browne in action on Saturday night against Monaghan — PBC on FOX/FOX Deportes (8 p.m.ET/5 p.m. PT)