He represented England and won a silver medal in the lightweight division, at the 1982 Commonwealth Games in Brisbane, Queensland, Australia.

[3] Born in London and a caretaker working for Camden Council outside of boxing, McDonnell made his professional debut in March 1983 with a points win over Phil Duke.

The fight went the full twelve rounds but Mitchell won via a comfortable unanimous decision, the first defeat of McDonnell's career.

[5] McDonnell returned in March 1989 with a points win over Benjie Marquez, and in May of that year faced Barry McGuigan at the G-Mex Centre, Manchester.

Although the underdog, McDonnell dominated the fight and won after it was stopped in the fourth round due to a cut over McGuigan's right eye.