Top boxing stars set to be honoured at awards

THE Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) host their annual awards night at the Louis Fitzgerald Hotel, Dublin on Friday evening.

One world and two European titles were claimed last year while all of the nine-man Irish senior squad claimed medals and the team of the tournament award at the EU Championships.

John Joe Nevin, Katie Taylor, Joe Ward, Ken Egan, Jason Quigley and the Irish senior team grabbed the headlines in a year which IABA President Dom O’Rourke described as outstanding.

Nevin, who reached the last 16 at the Beijing Olympics, travelled to Milan and became the sixth Irishman to medal at World Senior Championships level when bagging bronze. Olympic silver medallist Egan grabbed the headlines domestically, winning a ninth Irish senior title in-a-row.

The Neilstown clubman will now be bidding to match Jim O’Sullivan’s haul of 10 Irish seniors belts at the 2010 Championships which begin next month.

World champion Katie Taylor set a new record for international boxing after winning her fourth European title on the trot without conceding a single point. Jason Quigley also got in on the act. The Finn Valley club-man took home gold from the European Youth Championships, while Ward claimed a world junior light middleweight title in Armenia.

Ward, who boxes out of the Westmeath club, stopped three opponents inside the distance en route to gold in Armenia and is a medal prospect for the London Olympics.

Meanwhile, Tommy Egan Promotions has entered talks with Setanta Sports Ireland to broadcast a City West-hosted fight night.

Legendary boxing pundit, Steve Bunce, will host the event, which will take place on Saturday, April 17. Headlining the night is the Irish Light Middleweight Title clash between champion Neil Sinclair of Belfast and New York-based Arklow native James Moore, a former world amateur bronze medallist. While the return of “Buncey” is an exciting development, Egan believes it is just a part of what will prove to be a sensational overall fight night package.

“We are delighted to be working with Steve Bunce and Setanta Sports,” he said. “Steve is a huge name in boxing and he is second to none in terms of boxing commentary and knowledge.

“He will bring something extra to the televised show and we are thrilled to be the first Irish boxing promoters to have him for a fight night since the popular ‘Bring Back Bunce’ campaign was launched,” he said.

Major Medal Winners 2009 AIBA World Senior Championships Milan 54Kg: John Joe Nevin (bronze); AIBA World Junior Championships Armenia 71Kg: Joe Ward (gold); European Union Championships Denmark 91Kg: Con Sheehan (gold); 71Kg:Darren O’Neill (gold); 57Kg: David Oliver Joyce (gold).

Ireland also won three silver and three bronze medals and the team of the tournament award.

European Union Women’s Championships Bulgaria 60Kg: Katie Taylor (gold); European Women’s Championships Ukraine 60Kg: Katie Taylor (gold); European Youth Championships Poland/Germany 69Kg: Jason Quigley (gold); European Schoolboy Championships 59Kg: Gerard Whitehouse (bronze); 56Kg: Victor Medveduic (bronze); AIBA President’s Cup Azerbaijan 54Kg: John Joe Nevin (silver).