Georgia and Kosova for Cork boxing event

GEORGIA and Kosova have joined the line-up for the big multi-nations boxing tournament at the Rochestown Park Hotel in Cork in two weeks’ time.

Georgia, one of the strongest nations in Europe behind Russia and the Ukraine, will replace Nigeria, while Kosova comes in as a replacement for Uganda who, it would appear, had visa problems.

“We are absolutely thrilled that we have been able to accommodate Georgia,” Dan O’Connell, chairman of the organising committee, said. “The application for a place came through Zaur Antia, one of our national coaches.

At first we could not afford to bring them in but now a Cork businessman has come forward and offered to pay their air fare, so they will be in Cork.”

Zaur Antia has been busy working under Billy Walsh with the Olympic Squad and is currently at a training camp in Cyprus where several of our prospective Olympians are getting in some warm-weather training.

In fact the boxers will come directly from Cyprus for the multi-nations tournament and will leave Cork for Russia immediately. Ireland is the first team from Western Europe to be invited to Russia in the past 10 years and that trip will be another big part of their build-up to the Olympic qualifying tournaments in the New Year.

Russia, for the first time in recent years, topped Cuba in terms of medals at this year’s world championships in Japan and they were also tops at the European junior championships in Warsaw. There they took seven gold medals along with three silver and one bronze.

Nine nations will participate in the first ever multi-nations tournament to be held in Ireland, starting on November 3. The finals will be a corporate affair and it is understood that all tables have now been sold.

And now the Irish ABA are considering the possibility of putting two teams into the tournament.

Already they have named a team consisting of youth and experience that includes stars like Andy Lee, the Limerick middleweight who won a silver medal at last year’s world junior championships, Kenneth Egan at light heavy, James Moore, the Arklow welterweight who won a bronze medal a the world championships in Belfast, and heavyweight Alan Reynolds.

A second team would open up new opportunities for the current crop of ‘understudies’ who are building up to the national senior championships in December.