MUKILTEO — With his slight frame and boyish looks, Martin O’Malley was never a particularly menacing figure in the ring.
Until the fists started flying, that is.
O’Malley, who grew up in Edmonds and became perhaps the best boxer from Snohomish County over the past decade or two, was a terrific amateur who went on to some good years as a pro. As an amateur he battled Floyd Mayweather, a six-time world champion before his recent retirement, and lost a narrow decision. He was a sparring partner of Shane Mosely, a current fighter and another onetime holder of multiple world titles.
Like those two, O’Malley once seemed headed for boxing stardom. A lightweight with quick, powerful hands, he won his first 17 pro bouts (14 by knockout) before finally losing to Leonard Dorin of Romania, who would also go on to win a world title.
O’Malley then won four more fights before closing his career with four defeats and a draw in his last five matches.
“I gave it my best,” said the 32-year-old O’Malley, “but I didn’t get quite all the way to the very top. If I fester on it, there will always be would’ve, could’ve, should’ve. But I can say that I gave it everything I had, and I can live with that.”
Sure, he sometimes thinks about coming so close to a title, not to mention the monetary wealth that accompanies a belt.
“But I really have no regrets,” he said. “It’s a phase of my life that I can look back on, and I can live with (how it turned out) easily enough. That’s just the way it was.”
Still, he also remembers the optimism of his early years. In the summer of 1994, a little over a month after he graduated from Edmonds-Woodway High School, he was on the United States team at the Goodwill Games in St. Petersburg, Russia. Two years later he reached the championship bout of the National Golden Gloves tournament, where he lost to Mayweather.
O’Malley had a chance at the U.S. Olympic team in 1996, but a dubious disqualification for a low blow — a replay later showed the official’s decision to be incorrect — ended that dream.
So O’Malley turned pro, and in his early bouts the wins came one after another.
Back then, he said, “I would’ve passed a lie detector test if I’d been asked, ‘Are you going to be a world champion?’ I would’ve said, ‘Yes, I’m going to be a world champion.’ I would’ve guaranteed it. And I would’ve been telling the truth because I believed that.”
The 5-foot-9 O’Malley fought at 135 pounds, and he generally had a reach advantage against what were usually shorter, stockier foes.
“But a lot of times I’d neglect that and fight toe to toe,” he said. “Which was maybe more entertaining for the fans, but for a perfect strategy it was probably not the best thing I could have done. … By looking at me, people wouldn’t have normally guessed that I’d be a really good puncher. And a lot of guys might have underestimated me.”
O’Malley had a good right hand, but he figures about two-thirds of his knockouts came with his left.
“I always felt like my right hand was as good as my left,” he said, “but if you’d asked any of my opponents they’d always say the left hook was my best punch.”
In his career he suffered an assortment of injuries, including two broken hands, a fractured cheekbone and a torn bicep muscle. But he was wise enough to leave the sport before enduring the kind of “serious or permanent damage which is much more common than people may know,” he said.
O’Malley, who still lives in Edmonds, is not officially retired, but says he has no plans to get back in the ring.
“Unless,” he said, “I get a phone call with an offer I couldn’t refuse.” But, he added with a wry smile, “I might as well go buy a Lotto ticket.”
At this point, he went on, “I’m not going to fight for the sake of fighting. I’ve had enough fights and enough experience. I’ve seen the upside of boxing and I’ve also seen the downside, and I’m happy I had my involvement in boxing and then got out.”
He is trying to get started in a career as a personal trainer, and has been working at Gold’s Gym in Mukilteo. He has also done some coaching, and says he’d like to discover and train the next Martin O’Malley.
“There are a lot of things I don’t know well,” he said, “but boxing is one of the things I do know. I love boxing. It’s what I invested everything into. So I’d at least like to train or be involved in some way because it’s been such a large part of my life. I can’t box anymore, but I’d still like to pass on whatever I’ve learned to somebody else.”
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