Scott Patrick O’Farrell has got to be one of the most driven people we know. His business, Ringstar Management seems to climb up a notch every time we see him. Speaking to us over the phone one afternoon, he tells us that he’s recently torn his meniscus while training. Would that mean he’ll be out of action for a spell? Not a chance. He plans to be up and running even on crutches. With resilience like that, it’s no wonder Ringstar Management is now on the global stage, like a boxing champ in the making. We speak to O’Farrell to learn more.
Word on the street is that Ringstar’s got a huge broadcasting deal. Tell us more.
We set out to attain global broadcast. Now we are live on Fox Sports across all platforms, which reaches 20 million homes across Southeast Asia. We are also live on Fight Sports, which is about 80 million homes in America and another four or five million across Southeast Asia. We’re also on various free channels like Astro, ABS/ CBN, so we’ve possibly raised our broadcast footprint to close to a billion viewers.
The last time we spoke you mentioned giving back to the community. How’s that coming along?
I was spending a lot of time in the Philippines. Driving around I noticed all these great casinos and huge houses, and then only about 200 metres away, there are dilapidated shacks. It’s not poverty that someone is even trying to hide, it’s right in your face. I did my research and found out what Manny Pacquaio did with Emmanuel And Jinkee’s Heart Foundation to help thousands of people.
So I went to the Senate, set up a meeting with Manny, told his advisors about my ideas, and thankfully they decided to back me. In a nutshell, we’re going to be selling T-shirts, boxing robes, and any other kind of memorabilia Manny donates, and give all proceeds to the foundation.
That’s great to hear. Let’s talk about the upcoming event. What can you tell us about the match-ups?
The Ridhwan-Jeson match-up is going to be great. Jeson has 16 wins and is only 23 but he hits like a truck. Ridhwan? He can take a punch, we all know that, but I believe he’s also a lot faster. It’s going to be ‘the power’ vs ‘the old-school boxer’. It’s going to be a hard match to call, and the winner will be in line for any of the four world titles, and be in the Top 30 of the world.
There’s also the Karim Guerfi-Michael Dasmarinas match-up, which will be the biggest world title fight that night across the globe. Michael’s got 27 wins and two losses, and Karim’s got 26 and three, so it’s pretty much a 50/50 match-up. The fight is going to happen here, a neutral country since neither are residents nor citizens, which means that whoever wins this fight will go down in boxing history as a truly unbiased, legitimate world champion.
What’s the next big thing for you?
Outside of Ringstar now, we are also working with the Imagine group, the producers of The Apartment, Contender Asia, and The Challenger Muay Thai, among other big events, and we’re looking to produce a reality TV show that will be called The Final Round. This show will showcase boxers on their journeys, taking on fights in destinations around Asia. We’re looking to go into production really soon, which is great news. The year’s been really busy for us, but I am enjoying every minute.
Roar of Singapore IV – The Night of Champions is on 20 April at Singapore Indoor Stadium. Grab your tickets at sportshub.com.sg