O’Toole wants to keep pushing


Thomas “The Kid” O’Toole of Galway, an undefeated light heavyweight (9-0, 6 KOs), takes on the once defeated Russell Kimber (2-1, 1 KO) for the vacant Massachusetts state title in the Quincy Youth Arena in Quincy, Massachusetts, on May 11. The scheduled six-rounder is part of the “Rumble At The Rink” card presented by Granite Chin Promotions (GCP).

“What a compliment this fight is to our inaugural ‘Granite Chin Box Off,’” said Chris Traietti, GCP President. “The plan with this show was to stack it with fighters that people want to see, in fights that people want to see them in, and (O’Toole vs. Kimber) is the epitome of that.”

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“Thomas has been a fixture on the local boxing scene in recent years, and he takes on a man who is no slouch in Kimber,” Traietti added. “Kimber is the type of guy who, if you take him lightly, is going to have a bad night.

“Thomas has a solid amateur background and a great gym, so I don’t think he’ll make that mistake. But anyone in the building would be foolish to sleep on Russell Kimber. This will be a great co-feature!”

O’Toole, who is now 26, now fights out of the Boston suburb of Braintree and has been based in Boston for the past year. He captured the USBF Atlantic Light Heavyweight title last August, also in Quincy on a GCP card, with a first-round stoppage of Scott Lampert.

O’Toole is the 2019 Irish National Amateur Champion. He is coming off a homecoming victory on March 16 when he won all eight rounds against Hussein Itaba (16-7-3, 11 KOs) at the Salthill Leisureland Complex in Galway.

“I want to add this Massachusetts title and keep pushing,” said the stylish 6-foot-1 southpaw. “The plan is to have two big fights after this fight. He (Kimber) doesn’t argue too much, but he has sparred with some of my friends. He’s pretty wild and will fight when he comes forward, and that’s good for me.

“My fight in Galway was amazing, the best of my life, because it was my homecoming. But the Irish here have come to support me and Boston is my second home. I had a great coach and good boxers in Galway, but I knew I had to make a little change. You can’t spar as well there as I can here. So I moved.”

O’Toole is grateful to have connected with his head trainer, Mark “Bazooka” DeLuca, a still professionally active middleweight with a ledger of 30-4 (18 KOs).

“I’m so glad I made the connection with Mark,” said O’Toole. “I don’t think many people know how good a coach he is. I have more of a professional style than I had before he started training me. He showed me how to use range and stay calm. Mark has really developed my ability to control the ring and improve my ringmanship.

Kimber, meanwhile, thinks O’Toole has bitten off more than he can chew.

“Fighting for the title in Massachusetts is great. I don’t think he (O’Toole) fully understands what’s going to happen. I think a win will open doors for me because then I’ll be 3-1 and have a title. I’ve seen a few Granite Chin fighters with only six or seven fights get the chance to fight at places like Madison Square Garden. I have taken on this fight and we will see what happens,” he noted.

Kimber, who fights in Peabody, Massachusetts, comes from a martial arts line. His father, Dick, and uncle Tommy, were three- and five-time world kickboxing champions, respectively. Kimber owns Kimber Fitness, which will soon move from Peabody to nearby Salem.

Kimber made his pro debut in 2017, earning a decision over Nathan Schulte, but has only fought twice since then due to COVID-19 restrictions and fight cancellations.

Tickets for the “Rumble At The Rink” card are available at www.granite-chin-promotions.ticketleap.com.

Doors open at 6:00 PM EST and the first fight is scheduled for 7:00 PM