Andy Lee won two Elite belts in 2003 for the St Francis BC
Some of Ireland’s top boxers will get the opportunity to emulate Olympic silver medallist Ken Egan and current WBO champion Andy Lee, Paul Hyland, Andrew Murray, Paul McCloskey and Alan Reynolds at the upcoming Elite Championships.
All six won two Elite titles each in the same twelve months twelve years ago.
Click here and here for the 2003 Elite Championships and here for the 2015 Elite Championships.
The IABA are running the Elite Championships twice this year to facilitate Ireland’s boxers heading into the Olympic qualifiers in 2016.
There is a precedent for holding the Championships twice in the same calendar year, as the IABA ran the National Elite Championships twice in 2003 in the lead up to the Olympics qualifiers, with Andy Lee booking a ticket for Athens 2004 after winning bronze at the 2004 Europeans Elites in Pula, Croatia.
Meanwhile, the 2nd edition of the Elite Championships begin on Friday evening with the Quick Park women’s semi-finals and men’s preliminaries.
Clare’s Kayleigh Murrihy-McCormack and Tipperary’s Shauna O’Keeffe clash in a Munster derby. The winner will meet Olympic champion Katie Taylor in the lightweight final on November 27.
National Elite Championships
Women
November 20th
S/Finals (7.30pm)
48kg Donna Barr (Twin Towns) V Alexandra Kornaga (Carrickmacross)
54kg Elaine Harrison (Ardnaree) V Jade Corcoran (Crumlin)
60kg Kayleigh Murrihy- McCormack (Kilfenora) V Shauna O’Keefe (Clonmel)
64kg Shanice Just (Arklow) V Cheyanne O’Neill (Athlone)
69kg Tina Donnelly (Corinthians) V Grainne Walsh (Sparticus)
November 27th
Finals (7.30pm)
48kg Lauren Hogan (St Brigids Edenderry) V Winner
51kg Michaela Walsh (Holy Family GG) V Ceire Smith (Cavan)
54kg Dervla Duffy (St Brigids Kildare) V Winner
57kg Joanne Lambe (Carrickmacross) V Moira McElligott)
60kg Katie Taylor (Bray) V Winner
64kg Kelly Harrington (Glasnevin) V Winner
69kg Clare Grace (Callan) V Winner
75kg Christina Desmond (Fr Horgans) W/O
81+kg Diana Cambell (Garda) V Maeve McCarron (Carrigart)