When professional boxers say in interviews that they are “born fighters” sometimes its just bravado and sometimes it holds true.
For 27-year old Pat Kehoe it is the latter and through all of his trials, it has made him a better person as he prepares for his 2nd professional bout on June 28 when he takes on Danny Lugo (2-7, 1 KO) in a 4-round Welterweight at the Santander Arena.
Kehoe made a successful pro debut on April 18 with a 4-round unanimous decision over Shawn Sutton in Allentown, PA.
Getting to that bout was a long and bumpy ride that has made Kehoe a strong fighter both on the outside and inside.
As a child, Kehoe came from a dysfunctional family where physical abuse was common with his parents abusing alcohol. Because of that, Kehoe spent different periods being homeless and in foster care.
In his teen years, trouble found Kehoe as he took the rap for a robbery and spent five years in prison.
“As soon as I went into prison, I knew I had to change my life, “said Kehoe.
“I immediately acted upon that and got by GED and took college courses. I said to myself, I will never come back here.”
Many in the prison system have those same goals but trouble continued to find them. Not for Kehoe though.
Kehoe always had a liking for sports and gave Mixed Martial Arts a try. He went 4-0 in as an amateur but wanted to improve his stand up game.
Kehoe then went to a boxing gym and his his next fight scored a devastating knockout.
“I then decided, I wanted to box and stuck with it.” Kehoe went 12-3 as an amateur and turned pro. “I have a professional style and at age 27, I knew that this was the time to turn pro.”
Kehoe, now lives a very stable life as he works in general contracting for a construction company and is happily married with a 3 year-old child with his 2nd child on the way.
“I cant wait to fight on June 28 as it means so much to me to fight in Reading as I know I will have great support.”
In the main event, rising Jr. Lightweight Frankie De Alba (12-1-2, 4 KO’s) will take on Pablo Batres (7-9-1, 2 KO’s) in 8-round Featherweight bout.
