The 2008 National Senior Championships concluded at a packed National Stadium in Dublin last Friday night with 10 top-class finals.
The championships had a double significance this year, as boxers winning or retaining senior titles will be part of the Irish squad for the second last Olympic qualifier for European boxers, kicking off in Pescara, Italy next month.
Defending super heavyweight champion Cathal McMonagle was already guaranteed his place on the Irish squad for Italy after receiving a walkover when his opponent Alex Vedernikov had to withdraw due to a family illness.
Ruairi Dalton and Shane Cox got proceedings underway with an eagerly contested flyweight final, Cox taking the first round 4–0 with most of his scoring arriving via his rapid-fire left hand.
Two further lefts stretched the Wexford man’s lead by a further 2 points in the second before Dalton finally got on the scorecard with a close range right.
Cox, who lost last year’s final by the paper-thin margin of 1 point, directed another left straight through Dalton’s guard in the third, but Dalton reduced the deficit to 6 points going into the fourth and final round.
However, despite a brave display by the Antrim man in the final two minutes, it was Cox, fighting out of the blue corner, who had his hand raised in victory.
John Joe Nevin and TJ Doheny contested the bantamweight final, and it was Nevin, who eliminated reigning champion Ryan Lindberg in the semi finals, who emerged victorious from an encounter of contrasting styles.
Nevin did most of his good work in the second round, counter-punching on the back foot against an opponent who refused to stop coming forward.
A furious exchange in the fourth saw Nevin stretched his lead to 8–1. Doheny registered two scores late on, but a 5-point margin of victory was a fair reflection of victory for Nevin in a very technical four rounder.
Irish captain Ken Egan, unbeaten in Irish competition this century, claimed his eighth senior title on the trot following a convincing win over the brave Ciaran Curtis.
Egan worked in bursts throughout this light heavyweight clash, forcing the Dealgan man into a standing count in the second following a barrage of shots to the head and body.
The Neilstown fighter surged to 11–1 in the third, ahead of adding another 8 points to his total, before accepting the winner’s trophy from the president of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA), Dominic O’Rourke.
Con Sheehan was carrying the well wishes of Tipperary boxing fans into the ring for his heavyweight final with Tommy Sheehan. But despite the Clonmel man’s vociferous support, it was Tommy – of the St Michael’s Athy club – who took the first round 3–0.
Con chalked up his first scores in the second, landing with a close range left and a right to reduce the arrears to 3–2 before levelling and going ahead with two straight lefts down the middle in the third.
An overhead right stretched the Tipp fighter’s lead in the first 30 seconds of the fourth before two further shots sealed an impressive victory for the Clonmel’s Sheehan – who also received the boxer of the tournament award, and who will now carry Ireland’s heavyweight hopes into the Olympic qualifiers in Pescara.
“I’m lost for words and I would like to thank my coaches for all their help,” said the ecstatic 18-year-old after he was presented with his championship trophy.
But the most eagerly awaited fight of the night was yet to come, as defending middleweight champion Darren Sutherland prepared to face Darren O’Neill with an Irish title and a place on the Irish squad for Pescara up for grabs.
O’Neill claimed the first round, manoeuvring to the flanks of Sutherland’s full-frontal assault to land four punches in quick succession approaching the bell.
A classic second round saw O’Neill stretch his lead to 4 points, landing a beautiful right on the retreat – although he was caught by a stinging jab from Sutherland in a neutral corner.
Sutherland showed the heart of a true champion to take the third round, however, forcing O’Neill into a standing count en route to overturning the first two rounds and taking a 16–13 lead.
The St Saviour’s OBA man then added another 5 points to his tally to claim his second Irish title in a row from an absorbing four rounds of boxing which was worth the entrance fee alone.
A thrilled Sutherland said: “That was one of the best scraps to grace the National Stadium in years and I’m absolutely thrilled with the win.”
O’Neill admitted after the fight that he was desperately disappointed with the result, but the Kilkenny man very sportingly wished his Irish team-mate the best of luck in the Olympic qualifiers in Pescara.
In other action, the skilful Ross Hickey also impressed at the championships, and will join the team on the plane to Pescara with an Irish senior lightweight title to his name after edging out Anthony Cacace.
Hickey won the first 1–0, but both boxers were level at 1–1 by the end of the second. Hickey went back in front in the third before withstanding a late comeback from Cacace to be crowned the new lightweight champion of Ireland.
Defending light flyweight champion Paddy Barnes has already qualified for next summer’s Olympics, having booked his place in Beijing at the World Championships in Chicago last October.
However, the Holy Family Belfast man still had to defend his Irish title tonight, and once again, Jimmy Moore – from the St Francis club in Limerick – was standing in his way. Barnes previously beat Moore in last year’s 48kg final, just 12 months after Moore defeated the Ulster man in the 2006 decider.
Barnes looked sharp in the first round, landing two good rights, although Moore was doing an incredible amount of work throughout the round.
The Belfast boxer was credited with just one score in the second – landing with a short left following an exchange near his own corner – but the 2008 Irish Olympian opened up a definitive 11–0 lead in the third, and Moore’s corner retired their man in the fourth.
John Joe Joyce is still only 19 years old, but that didn’t stop the St Michael’s Athy man taking home his third senior title on the trot following a comprehensive light welterweight win over Jamie Kavanagh.
Joyce, who had stepped up from lightweight, forced the Crumlin man into standing counts in each of the first three rounds before the contest was stopped on the 20-point rule (27–7) in round three.
Kevin Fennessey was hoping to make it a Clonmel double against defending champion David Oliver Joyce in the featherweight final, but Joyce was also looking to do the double for St Michael’s Athy.
Their contest started at a furious pace, with both boxers using the full width of the apron in a running attempt to carve out an attacking angle.
Joyce took the first two computer scores to lead 2–0 at the end of the first. Fennessey registered his first score in the second, but Joyce landed six clear shots to lead 8–1 at the bell.
The third round saw Fennessey receive two public warnings while Joyce also incurred the wrath of the referee on his way to recording a deserved 22–4 win.
Like his St Michael’s team-mate John Joe Joyce, Roy Sheahan was targeting his third senior Irish title on the trot at the expense of John Joe McDonagh in the final bout of the 2008 finals – a welterweight decider which finished in the early hours of the morning.
Sheahan was boxing well within himself in this four-rounder, enough to lead 4–0 at the end of the second. Neither boxer scored in the third, but Sheahan tagged his man with two good rights in the fourth and final round to claim a personal hat trick of Irish senior titles and the third title of the night for St Michael’s Athy.
