Big hitter McDonagh chasing second title

JOHN JOE McDONAGH (Brosna), quarter-finalist at the world junior boxing championships in Korea last year, could land his second national U-21 title at the National Stadium tonight.

The Mullingar light welter is one of the biggest hitters in the game. He graduated from an impressive under-age career to win last year’s national junior title, went to the world juniors and returned to claim the U-21 title.

His opponent tonight, Keith Boyle (St. Saviours OBA) is a former bronze medallist at the European Cadette Championships, while this year he lost to David Oliver Joyce in the semi-finals of the junior championships.

David Oliver Joyce will be bidding to add the bantamweight title to his string of titles. The Athy lad has already claimed this year’s national youth title at 52kg and the national junior flyweight title.

His opponent, Paul Duncliffe (Fr. Horgans) has been around the rings and mixed it with the best of them in the past. He was unlucky to lose to John Joe Joyce, also from the St. Michael’s Club in Athy, in the finals of the national youth championships.

The most experienced boxer on view tonight will be Roy Sheahan (St. Michael’s Athy), bidding for his second U-21 title which would bring his total of national championship wins to eleven.

He had a big win over the American No 1 at the Multi-Nations Tournament in Cork last year and followed that up with a gold medal from the four nations senior championships.

His opponent is Paddy Reilly, St. Paul’s in Waterford, a national youths champion at 60kg who is moving up to 69kg.

Another boxer from the St. Paul’s club, John Paul McDonagh, will be hoping to add another title to the junior title he won earlier in the year. However he will have his hands full against John Joe Joyce (St. Michael’s Athy).

Darren O’Neill (Paulstown, Kilkenny) has national junior and intermediate titles from last year as well as a gold medal from the four nations tournament in Liverpool.

Tonight he faces reigning national junior champion, Martin Stokes (Crumlin) for the light heavyweight title.

Heavyweight Patrick Coyle keeps the Geesala flag flying. He faces a tough assignment against John Sweeney (Dungloe), who won the Ulster intermediate light heavyweight title two years ago and then lost in the finals of the national championships.

The welterweights, John J. Nevin (Cavan) and David Joyce (Moate) know each other well.

Nevin, a finalist at lightweight in the national junior championships this year, formerly boxed out of the Brosna club in Mullingar while Joyce is a current national junior champion.