Furey yet to receive all-clear

TYSON FUREY weighed in for the national senior boxing championships at the National Stadium yesterday morning but he will have to produce evidence that he has been resident in the country for 12 months before he can take his place in the semi-finals tonight.

He has been drawn against an Eastern European import, Alex Vedernikov (Neilstown) who is taking part in these championships for the third time, with a final against champion, Cathal McMonagle (Holy Trinity), as the prize.

Furey was boxing for England when he won a world junior bonze medal in Morocco in 2006 and a silver European junior championships in Serbia last July.

His father, ‘Gypsy’ Johnny Fury, who was a professional heavyweight between 1987 and 1995, regarded the peak Mike Tyson as the greatest fighter ever. His son was born six weeks after Tyson scored the best and most dramatic win of his entire career, blitzing previously-unbeaten former light-heavy and heavyweight champion Michael Spinks in just 91 seconds in Atlantic City.

IABA president Dominic O’Rourke said last night that while they would like to have Tyson Furey competing at these championships, it was obligatory on him to produce evidence that he has been resident in the country for 12 months.

Mickey Hawkins, who trains defending super-heavyweight champion Cathal McMonagle at the Holy Trinity club in Belfast, was not happy with the possibility of Furey’s acceptance into the championships.

“How can a boxer who has competed for England in five or six different internationals and tournaments this year — and is the current number two in their official ratings — claim that he has been resident here in Ireland for the last 12 months?” he asked yesterday.

“Cathal McMonagle, just like every other amateur boxer in this country, has worked hard and dedicated himself and virtually his whole life to realising his ambition of winning an Irish championship.”

Clonmel Boxing Club got the championships off to a flying start with big wins for Kevin Fennessy at featherweight and Con Sheehan at heavyweight.

Fennessy, who lost a bantamweight final to David Oliver Joyce two years ago and a desperately close final and disputed decision to Ryan Lindberg last year looked comfortable at featherweight as he disposed of Sean Kilroy from Drogheda 13-6 in an entertaining quarter final.

He now meets Carl Frampton, who was David Oliver Joyce’s understudy while the St Michael’s man was injured last summer.

Con Sheehan is an 18-year-old who has been mixing it with the best all season. He added the national U21 heavyweight title to his cv with an impressive win over Luke Cadden. That was after he made it through to the quarter finals of the European junior championships and he came away with an impeccable record from the multi-nations round robin tournament involving Ireland, England, Germany and France in Donegal where he won all of his three contests.

Last night he got his campaign off to the perfect start with a 19-8 victory over Patrick Phelan, 10 years his senior, from the St Michael’s Club in Athy who was coming out of retirement not having boxed since he won the intermediate flyweight title back and 1996.

Sheehan is a full-time member of the High Performance Squad and, on last night’s performance, is a young man with a bright future.

But tonight he faces an enormous task in the quarter finals when he touches gloves with the man of the moment, John Sweeney from Dungloe, who lost to Ian Tims in the final last year but was called up to replace the Dubliner in the European Union championships and went from strength to strength, winning a silver medal at the Gee Bee tournament in Finland and going on to box in the world championships in Chicago.

One of the most exciting young prospects in the country, John Joe Nevin from Mullingar but boxing out of the Cavan club, made his senior debut with a very impressive 9-1 victory over Daniel Coughlin (St Annes) in an entertaining bantamweight contest and now he will meet the defending champion Ryan Lindberg (Immaculata) in the semi-finals tomorrow night.

Eamon Touhey (Moate), an outstanding under-age boxer who lost two finals at senior level, got the 2008 campaign under way with a decisive 28-12 victory over Limerick man, Willie Casey (OLOL)

David Barrett (Rylane) will face John Joe Joyce (St Michael’s, Athy), the raging hot favourite for the light welterweight title, in tonight’s quarter finals.

The Rylane man, whose older brothers, Seanie and Declan are former champions at intermediate and senior levels, beat David Joyce in Macroom last month and subsequently sparred in the St Michael’s club.