Dennis Hogan’s Brisbane Homecoming is No Feel-Good Story for Christmas

Dennis Hogan’s Brisbane Homecoming is No Feel-Good Story for Christmas

Dennis Hogan will get back to his home in the Australian city of Brisbane just in the nick of time to spend the Christmas holidays with his wife and baby daughters. This reads like a nice opening line to a heartwarming Christmas story, but it’s not. File it under Heartbreak.

Don’t misunderstand. Hogan loves his wife, the former Brideen White, and his daughters, aged three and 10 months, but it wasn’t supposed to be this way. He didn’t plan on returning home without first capturing the figurative scalp of former WBA/IBF 154-pound world champion Julian “J Rock” Williams. But the best laid plans of mice and men often go awry and that goes triple for boxing, even in a normal year.

Ten years ago, at age 25, Hogan left his home in Kilcullen, Ireland, a town in greater Dublin, for a new beginning in the Land Down Under. In Ireland he had worked as a carpenter. Work became scarce after the recession hit, but Hogan wasn’t pushed to Australia so much as he was pulled there. As an amateur, he had boxed in a tournament in Brisbane, impressing someone with connections who told him, “look me up if you ever decide to turn pro.”

In Ireland, many boys grow up with the dream of becoming a world boxing champion. That yearning was especially intense in Hogan who was introduced to the sport by his maternal grandfather, Paddy Burke, the local boxing coach in Kilcullen.

In Hogan’s words, his grandfather was “over the moon” when Dennis won his first pro fight. But Paddy did not live to see his grandson’s pro career evolve beyond the preliminary stage. His final words to Dennis before he passed away were “Give it everything you got.” Last year, Dennis got a tattoo with these words inscribed below an image of his late grandfather. It was inked below his heart.

Hogan was off the radar of most boxing fans in most of the world until April of last year when he challenged WBO 154-pound champion Jaime Munguia in Monterrey, Mexico. Dennis came out on the short end of a majority decision, but the overwhelming consensus in the Anglo community was that he was robbed. Had the judges seen the same fight as those tuning in on TV, it would have been a massive upset. The Mexican came in undefeated (32-0) and was a big puncher.

Hogan’s consolation prize was a date with another undefeated fighter, WBC world middleweight champion Jermall Charlo. They met at Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn on Dec. 7, 2019, and that didn’t go well for the Irish Aussie. Dennis was on the deck twice before the bout was waived off in the seventh round. It was the first stoppage of Hogan’s career and reduced his record to 28-3-1.

Dennis concedes that he made a big mistake by moving up in weight to take on an opponent as formidable as Charlo. He resolved that henceforth he would stay at 154. When he received an offer to fight “J-Rock,” he pounced on it. The bout would happen on the day after Christmas at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. The winner was promised another title shot.

On Oct. 22, Hogan arrived in Las Vegas to begin a 9-week camp with new trainer Wayne McCullough. A longtime Las Vegas resident, Belfast native McCullough is a two-time Olympian who turned pro after winning silver at the 1992 Barcelona Games and would go on to win a world bantamweight title. He was tutored from the very onset of his pro career by the legendary trainer Eddie Futch and he and Hogan would hit it off splendidly.

Nine weeks is a long time for a fellow with young ones at home to be away from his family. One might think that spending it in a party town like Las Vegas would mitigate the sacrifice, but don’t be fooled. The allurements of the Strip held no appeal to Hogan. “I have been 100 percent focused on becoming the best boxer that I can be,” he told this reporter.

Hogan had an inkling that things might go awry when he learned that Julian Williams’ chief sparring partner (who shall remain nameless in deference to health privacy laws) had tested positive for the coronavirus. As it turned out, that was a precursor of more bad news. Julian Williams was forced to pull out.

Dennis was given the option of taking on James Kirkland who was slated to appear on the card in a supporting bout. On paper, Kirkland, the trouble-plagued, 36-year-old Texas southpaw, was a far lesser threat than “J-Rock.” Kirkland had fought only twice against no-name opponents since being thrashed by Canelo Alvarez in 2015. But a match with the heavy-handed Kirkland would have necessitated a return to 160 pounds and Hogan said thanks, but no thanks.

The entire card has evaporated, but in these fluid times one shouldn’t be shocked if it gets patched back together with a new main event.

It was a bummer of a year for Hogan before this latest development. He is great friends with Jeff Horn with whom he has sparred many rounds. Sitting in the stadium and watching Horn take a beating from Tim Tszyu in their big domestic clash this past August was tough to take. Horn has been up and down since he beat Pacquaio, notes Hogan: “After the first round I knew that Jeff was going to have an off night.”

Hogan’s name was immediately bandied about as a future opponent for Tszyu. He says he was offered the fight but had to turn it down because he is under contract with Premier Boxing Champions who, he says, has been very fair in their dealings with him. He won’t denigrate Tszyu, but one gets the impression that he isn’t all that impressed with the son of the Hall of Famer. “A fight with Tszyu is a fight I would embrace,” he says with relish. (Tim Tszyu is back in action this coming Wednesday opposing New Zealand’s Bowyn Morgan.)

The Moloney twins, Jason and Andrew, have a big following in Australia, and Hogan is a fan. When Andrew’s rematch with Joshua Franco was ruled a no-contest because of a phantom head butt, there was a big stink. “It was the most disgusting thing I ever saw in boxing,” says Dennis. “For the two rounds that it lasted, Andrew fought the perfect fight.”

Hogan anticipates that he will stay in the boxing game, likely in a promotional capacity, when his career is finished. He can tap into the big Irish community in Brisbane that inflates the gate whenever he is on the bill.

“As much as it’s a heartache, boxing in my blood,” he told this reporter in a conversation that took place before he knew that his fight with Julian Williams was in the jeopardy. At age 35, Dennis has a short window to realize his dream of becoming a world champion. For boxers of his vintage, a postponed fight, at least in theory, is more disadvantageous.

When Hogan left Brisbane to complete his preparations in Los Angeles for his date with Jaime Munguia, he got a big send-off. The Queensland Irish pipe band walked him into the airport. The previous month, he and Brideen – who is also a recent emigrant from the Emerald Isle – and their little girl Aria (whose sister wasn’t born yet) were given their own float in Brisbane’s St. Patrick’s Day parade.

As I write these words, Dennis Hogan is homeward bound. His plane hasn’t yet touched down in Australia and when it does, he won’t be in Brisbane, but in Sydney, where he must quarantine for 14 days before completing his journey. Hopefully there will be some presents under a tree when he finally makes it home after a long expedition that yielded nothing but another disappointment.

Merry Christmas, Dennis, and if your retort is “bah, humbug,” well, we can certainly understand your frustration.

Photo credit: Getty

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