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Add FightsATW on GoogleIt’s been a busy spell, in a good way, for the New York-based attorney Keith Sullivan, who is en route now to Saudi Arabia as part of the July 25 boxing event which features the ring return of UK heavyweight all-time great, Anthony Joshua (29-4, 26 KOs).
The 53-year-old Sullivan manages underdog challenger Kristian Prenga (20-1, 20 KOs); he shared a bit with FightsATW about juggling two offices and home stuff.
See Story of David And The Giant Goliath
“Sullivan and Galleshaw successfully settled on the eve of trial,” he told me. “A huge property damage case against big corporations, and special interests involving Hurricane Sandy. Six months later, I was about to start a trial for wrongful death of a construction worker and settled it for $5 million. I believe in the David versus Goliath narrative, and KP versus AJ fits it to a T.”
Sullivan, who also has a solid and growing international stable, is not to be confused with a fellow member of his fraternity, fellow fighter manager Keith Connolly. We chuckled over that, with Sullivan, who I know from his service to the Atlas Foundation charity, offering that he’d like that Connolly stable (Edgar Berlanga, Richardson Hitchins, etc).
“Back to Prenga, 35 years old, from Albania, fighting out of New Jersey,” the manager, who calls Far Rockaway, Queens, home base to his wife, and a baby girl, four months old. AJ was last seen picking up the mental pieces after the auto accident tragedy, which took two best pals, coming off a high-energy jaw-smashing effort on Netflix versus Jake Paul. Prenga is very much less well known than the influencer savant Paul, with a 20–1-0 record in eight years as a pro. A win over Joey Dawejko is his BoxRec claim to best win. He showed right-hand power in a recent outing against journeyman Richard Carmack last December, which AJ will want to be respectful of.
Real Life Rocky Opportunity
“Real life Rocky Balboa underdog moment being handed to him… And the fans! His team reached out to me a year ago. We had different expectations. So I walked. They came back 6 months later, and we had a meeting of the minds, shook hands, and I said I’ll do big things for you. I didn’t think it would be this big this soon. Sullivan does gradual development; this was an accelerated launch!”
AJ has the mental overhang from that immense tragedy; he doesn’t even know how much that may or may not affect him, as a 29-4 hitter, 36 years old. So, Sullivan thinks his kid can win, who, by the way, came up tough and hard in Albania, working a cart and doing hard, menial work from age 8 onward. He is a staunch Catholic, still in search of a spicier nickname than KP.
The manager explains his enthusiasm one week before the showdown in Jeddah.
“This is what makes sport great,” Sullivan continued. “Opportunity exists, the chances are there, we have seen the vulnerabilities in AJ in the past. Think about it… If AJ wins, he gets no credit. If AJ loses, his career, his legacy, his pipeline of financial sponsorships and luxury end immediately. That is a lose-lose situation to place yourself into. For a tune-up, for a comeback, when you haven’t left the sport, and you’ve been fighting actively, and you’re 5 years behind who you should be and fighting Tyson Fury, you’re going to run the risk. Incredibly silly move by Team AJ.”
There is the logician/strategist/courtroom angling and thinking…
In Boxing, You Can Win For Losing
“Now on the other hand, if KP loses he was expected to and if he loses well, he gets big fight opportunities down the road, but if he wins, he becomes an instant millionaire overnight. That narrative,” Sullivan says, “makes for an exciting storyline.”
More on Prenga: “The area he is from in Albania is the only area in Albania to defeat the Turks. They refuse to surrender their Albanian culture and Catholic religion. He comes from a long line of generational stubborn, confident, proud Albanians who not only do not back down, they don’t even back up.”
‘Punchers’ Chance,’ You Know The Term…
The Brooklyn-born Sullivan also has Paddy Donovan on the Katie Taylor goodbye show in September, as well as busy Japanese battler Miyo Yoshida, and more. “You have to seize opportunities when they present themself in life. This AJ fight is one of those times. Traditionally, my approach with Sullivan management is to develop the fighter and bring them along gradually so that, when they’re on the big stage, they can perform. Pryce Taylor (the heavyweight) and my 13-0 development of him is a perfect example.”
Sullivan’s stable: “Paddy is in camp right now, a welterweight readying for September 5 Croke Park fight on the Katie Taylor card. Ironically, I will get to check up on his training while in Saudi Arabia. He will be traveling in with Andy Lee, who has a fighter on the card. So the band of Sullivan, Lee, and Donovan will be back together for a few nights in Saudi Arabia. I have Yoshida, a three-time Japanese world champion, training for a world title fight against Skye Nicolson. But we live life on life’s terms, and the AJ opportunity was handed to us because I have a good reputation in the industry. And I have a guy they selected that they think fits their needs.”
They think. Time will tell.
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