This article is from page 64 of the 2011-03-08 edition of The Clare People. OCR mistakes are to be expected so download the original SWF or the rendered page 64 JPG
CLARE BOXERS made considerable progress in the Irish Youths and Ladies Championships in the National Stadium in Dublin last weekend with last year’s silver medallist Lee Sherlock showing particularly good form edging closer to his quest for gold in the 54 Kilo division.
The ladies have been particularly prominent with Kilfenora’s Caoilinn McCormack and Ennis representative Sally Carrig winning their semi-finals in spectacular fashion on Saturday and with reigning champions Antoinette Keane 63 Kg and Kayleigh McCormack 57 Kg already through to the semi-finals, the prospects of gold looks good.
Caoilinn McCormack stopped Ulster Champion Sharon Kelly in the third round of her semi-final, having led 8-2 after the second round, and Sally Carrig in her first year of Championship boxing also won inside the distance against another Ulster champ Kayleigh MacAuley from Derry. Sally nailed her oppo- nent with a big right hook at the end of the first round forcing a standing count and kept up the sustained pressure from the bell in the second for a great inside the distance victory.
Lee Sherlock has been showing good form this season, and he came through to the semi-finals on Friday with a good win over last year’s champion Paudge McDonagh from the St Francis Club in Limerick. The Ennis southpaw displaying all of his defensive skills limited his onrushing opponent to a single point over the three rounds while scoring nicely with his lightning right jab for victory. \ His semi-final opponent, Patrick Bradley from the Errigal club in Derry was easily the toughest of his opponents to date, and their battle for gold or silver was a cliff hanger with fortunes fluctuating, and the tenacious Sherlock holding out for victory. Bradley led by a single point coming out for the third and final round and he clung to the tenuous lead right up to the final seconds when nailed him with a perfect right hook to the chin to bring the score to parity and force a double countback on the computer for a score of 4-1 to the Ennis fighter. His Ennis clubmate Wayne Danagher was not so lucky however in his quarter final; having led all the way in his 70 Kg battle with Sean Collins from the Smithfield Club in Dublin’s inner city he was caught with a left hook with just ten seconds remaining and lost the initiative, losing out 11-10 in the end.
And so, with the ladies stealing the limelight, all five will battle for glory on Friday and Saturday next, and hopes are high for a brace of titles. Sherlock’s opponent in the 54 Kg final will be Dubliner Jamie Stokes from the Mulhuddart club, and both fighters are waxing lyrical about their prospects of victory in this prestigious final.
Ennis coaches and mentors Tommy Lyons and Sean Carrig were proactive in the judging and refereeing of these championships and will again be in action come next weekend. EnnisTournament 2nd March 2011.
Boy 1 36 Kg JimMcDonagh (Ennis) Bt Timmy Casey (OLOL) 42 Kg Conor Doyle Bt Alan O’Donnell 48 Kg Luke Carmody lost to Martin Mongan 65 Kg Caimin Doyle lost to Danny Harty Boy 2 42 Kg Diarmuid O’Gorman lost to Paddy Keenan 52 Kg Brian McDonagh Bt Terry Harris 57 Kg Ml Galbraith lost to Muiris Mongan Boy 4 57 Kg Simon McDonagh Bt Geoff Mulqueen 63 Kg James Galbraith lost to Ed O’Donoghue Youth 2 75 Kg Martin Keenan Bt Ben McNamara Heavyweight Mark Fitzgerald drewwith Ml P. Mongan