The Irish Athletic Boxing Association wants to centre the voices of leaders of the future in the development of our sport, and is creating an IABA Youth Forum, for boxers aged 15 to 23.

This Youth Forum is a key part of our 2024-2028 Strategic Plan, In Your Corner, and is part of a series of member events built on collaboration, openness and transparency, including the Club Forum on November 15^th and the Boxing Forum in January.

This Forum will meet four times a year, and will discuss and make recommendations on matters including:

• Why young athletes leave boxing and how best to retain them
• What changes would you like to see in our sport at club level?
• What changes would you like to see in our sport at national level?
• Competitions: are there enough competitions for your age & weight?
• How should IABA promote & platform younger athletes?
• The boxing pathway for young athletes
• The coaching pathway for young athletes
• The volunteer pathway for young athletes

Expression of Interest

Expressions of interest are welcome from all boxers aged 15 to 23 in the year of birth who are members of successfully affiliated clubs registered in their club’s Blocworx portal.

Boxers are invited to put themselves forward HERE https://shout.com/s/oMooRYoc

• The Expression of Interest window will remain open until midnight on November 30^th
• Contact will be made with all those who completed an EOI in the period December 1^st-7^th.
• An introductory Zoom meeting will take place at 6pm on Friday, December 19^th.
• The first meeting of the Youth Forum will take place on Saturday, January 24^th at XX location.

For any queries, please contact National Development Manager James Geraghty via james@iaba.ie

The finals pairings for the culmination of the 2025 National Intermediate Championships are known, following the completion of all remaining semi finals this evening.

In all, 123 bouts are being boxed over the course of the tournament, by in excess of 140 boxers.

Semi Finals | Friday, November 28th

51kg   Carlagh Peake (Ballyhaunis) beat Hannah Zaidan (Spartan), RSC3

51kg   Summer Flemming (Holy Trinity) beat Georgia Kirkwood (Ormeau Road), 5-0

54kg   Courtney McCrudden (Emerald A) beat Aoife Dougan (Armagh), 5-0

54kg   Aaliya Butler (Erne) beat Niamh Keogh (Olympic L), 5-0

55kg   Peter Mari (Nutgrove) beat Antonio Bozkaya (East Meath), 3-1

55kg   James Lynch Dalton (Firhouse) beat Rhys Hayes (The Hub), 5-0

60kg   Keelyn Mangan (Celtic Eagles) beat Catrina Moore (Emerald A), 5-0

60kg   Ella McDonald (Corpus Christi A) beat Leah O’Keeffe (Kanturk), 5-0

60kg   Joseph O’Brien Togher) W/O

60kg   Martin McDonagh (Avona) beat Cody O’Reilly (Portloaise), 5-0

65kg   Aodhan Byrne (Kilcullen) W/O

65kg   Johnny Harty Jr (Portlaoise) beat Chris McCabe (Santry), 5-0

70kg   Nicole Hamill (Corpus Christi A) W/O

70kg   Jessica Talbot (Lucan) beat Sophie Fitzsimons (Unit 3), 5-0

70kg   Luke Duncan (Ederney) beat Emmanuel Olubunmi (St Marys D), 4-0

70kg   Jenovic Mbuyi Tshiswoka (Spartan) beat Cahan Hallinan (Olympic C), 3-2

75kg   Zoe Beato (Drimnagh) beat Jodie Byrne (Top End), 5-0

75kg   Ola Wahab (Golden Gloves M ) beat Damon Critchly (Canal), 5-0

75kg   Tobi Olesegun (Holy Family) beat Callum Powell (Cabra), 5-0

80kg   James McGuinness (St Monicas) beat  Niall Doherty (St Marys NR), KO3

80kg   Jude Molyneaux (Holy Trinity) beat Loic Yonken (Cabra), 3-1

Advisories

Boxing on November 29th will take place at the National Stadium.

Weigh-ins will take place between 8am and 9am.

The withdrawal of any boxer should be notified without delay to National Registrar, Stephen Connolly, via +353 86 154 6746 or registrar@iaba.ie

Coaches who have not registered with National Secretary Tara Mari via secretary@iaba.ie will not be permitted entry to the field of play.

Finals | Saturday, November 29th

All programmes are subject to change. Boxing begins at 11m

Aoife O’Rourke has been nominated for the Her Sport Athlete of the Year accolade.

Aoife’s outstanding achievements in 2025 are unprecedented and may well be unrepeatable: She won World silver in March at the IBA Women’s World Championships, and 6 months later almost to the day, World gold at the World Boxing Championships.  Boxing’s changing standing global governance landscape means this feat may not be replicable by any other Irish boxer, ever. On her journey in to the annals of Irish boxing lore in Liverpool, Aoife defeated Norway’s Sunniva Hofstad, the only boxer in the world this year to have won gold at every World Boxing Cup.

Outside boxing, she and her sister she, and her sister Lisa, became women’s doubles Hyrox World Champions in April of 2025, and were first ranked by age in the Hyrox Hamburg elite event in October.

Aoife is nominated along side Clare Melia (Basketball), Ellen Walsh (Swimming), Fiona Murtagh (Rowing), Hannah Tyrell (Football), Kate O’Connor (Heptathlon), Katie McCabe (Soccer), Lara Gillespie (Cycling), Orla Comerford (Para Athletics), Sarah Healy (Athletics)

Vote

You can vote here: https://awards.hersport.ie/. The winner will be announced at a gala event on January 23rd.

Team Ireland’s Natalia Fasciszewska will contest for European U23 Championship gold in tomorrow’s final in Budapest, Hungary – and she’ll take on Paris Olympics silver medalist, Poland’s Julia Szeremeta.

Natalia, who boxes out of Castlebar BC, Mayo, has won her way to the final with victories Azerbaijan’s Aynur Mikayilova at Last 16, Gabriella Weerheim of the Netherlands.  Gabriella Weerheim of the Netherlands at QF stage, and today’s semi-final second round stoppage win over Georgia’s Khuraman Kausumov.

Speaking after her bout the Mayo woman said “I had a team meeting with my coaches and we analysed everything about this girl. I knew what to expect coming in to this fight. I knew what to expect coming in to this fight so I stuck to the game plan and I gave it to her!”

Natalia is expected in the ring at around 10:30am, Irish time, on Saturday morning. The finals programme is here

50kg Louis Rooney comes home from Budapest with a bronze following his semi-final against Azerbaijan’s Subah Mamedov. Louis had a point deducted and a standing count in the third round. A minute later, he was referred for ringside medical attention for a facial cut, and the contest was ended in an RSCi, and awarding of the bout to the Azerbaijan boxer.

Medal ceremonies will also take place on Saturday. 48kg Tiffany Spencer of Jobstown BC Dublin, Natalia and 60kg Rebecca Kavanagh of Mulhuddart BC, Dublin are scheduled to receive their medals in a ceremony due to begin at around 11:30am.

Medal Ceremonies for 65kg Ava Henry of Dublin Docklands and 80+kg Cliona D’arcy are slated to begin at 1.30pm, while Louis Rooney will receive his medal at around 3.30pm

The competition schedule is available here

271 boxers from 32 federatons are contesting this inaugural confederation level World Boxing U23 championships. Competing federations are: Albania, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, England, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Scotland, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine and Wales.

Congratulations to IABA R&J, Garry McGillion of Bishop Kelly BC was appointed to referee two semi finals – one women’s, and one men’s:

Standings

Ahead of the release of the final medals table tomorrow evening, Ireland is in joint third in terms of the number of medals.

• Turkey: 9 medals
• Poland, Ukraine: 8 medals
• England, Ireland: 6 medals
• Italy: 5 medals
• Azerbaijan, Bulgaria, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Romania: 3 medals
• Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia: 2 medals
• Albania, Croatia, Finland, Lithuania, Norway, Spain, Sweden, Wales: 1 medal

Watch

One ring will be in operation in Saturday’s finals. Boxing in the Afternoon Session begins at 10am, and the Evening Session gets underway at 2pm.

Team Ireland

48kg Tiffany Spencer, Jobstown BC, Dublin

51kg Rachel Lawless, St. Brigid’s BC, Offaly

54kg Robyn Kelly, Ballynacargy Boxing Club, Westmeath

57kg Natalia Fascizewska, Castlebar BC, Mayo

60kg Rebecca Kavanagh, Mulhuddart BC, Dublin

65kg Ava Henry, Dublin Docklands BC

80+kg Cliona D’Arcy, Tobar Pheadair BC, Galway

50kg Louis Rooney, Star ABC, Belfast

55kg Pasty Joyce, Olympic BC, Westmeath

60kg Gavin Ryan, Ratoath BC, Meath

65kg Roy Colgan, Avona BC, Dublin

70kg Ryan Jenkins, Jobstown BC, Dublin

75kg Tadgh O’Donnell, Jobstown BC, Dublin

80kg James Whelan, Dublin Docklands BC

85kg Sean Mackay Trant, Monkstown BC, Dublin

90kg Garyn McAllister, North Down BC, Down

Support Staff

Team Manager: High Peformance Director, Jon Mackey

Coaches: James Doyle, Lynne McEnery, Jay Delaney, Ross Hickey (Grangecon BC, Wicklow/Defence Forces) and Paul Simpson (Saviours Crystal, Waterford)

Physio: Paddy O’Donnell and Rian Furley

Athlete Support: Aidan Walsh

R&J: Garry McGillion (Bishop Kelly BC, Tyrone)

Sport Ireland, and the Institute of Sport Sports Science Team are holding a series of webinars specifically designed around female health and performance, and they are open to IABA club coaches, support staff and women boxers to attend.

Additionally, the Technological University of the Shannon is conducting a female health survey (15-20 yr olds) – this is part of further research into youth female athletes and support for female health domains (S&C, menstrual cycle health, breast health, and pelvic floor health). The survey is available here

Monday 1st Dec 7:30pm Athlete specific

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/905eb835-003c-4201-88d9-a45be3d47665@9d8ad7f7-295f-41c6-b7d7-77af2ad17cd5

The Female Athlete Health and Performance Taskforce is hosting an interactive webinar designed specifically for athletes. The session will provide a comprehensive overview of the menstrual cycle, its role as an indicator of overall health, and the performance advantages associated with effective cycle tracking. Participants will also receive practical guidance on how to monitor and interpret their cycle to support training and recovery. In addition, the webinar will feature the official launch of the Female Athlete–Specific Infographics, which will be available through the Sport Ireland website.

Thursday 4th Dec 7:30pm Coach and Performance Staff specific 

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/f33856db-7700-4911-825b-f77b548c3296@9d8ad7f7-295f-41c6-b7d7-77af2ad17cd5

The Female Athlete Health and Performance Taskforce is hosting an interactive webinar designed specifically for coaches and performance staff. The session will provide a comprehensive overview of the menstrual cycle, its role as an indicator of overall health, and the performance advantages associated with effective cycle tracking. Participants will also receive practical guidance on how athletes can monitor their cycle to support training and recovery. In addition, the webinar will feature the official launch of the Female Athlete–Specific Infographics, which will be available through the Sport Ireland website.

Monday 8th Dec 7:30pm Coach and Performance Staff specific 

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/44789c09-e085-4b60-ae84-ce695bdf4471@9d8ad7f7-295f-41c6-b7d7-77af2ad17cd5

The Female Athlete Health and Performance Taskforce is hosting an interactive webinar designed specifically for coaches and performance staff. The session will provide a comprehensive overview of the menstrual cycle, its role as an indicator of overall health, and the performance advantages associated with effective cycle tracking. Participants will also receive practical guidance on how athletes can monitor their cycle to support training and recovery. In addition, the webinar will feature the official launch of the Female Athlete–Specific Infographics, which will be available through the Sport Ireland website.

Thursday 11th Dec 7:30pm Athlete specific

https://events.teams.microsoft.com/event/09e1ce5c-b850-4f05-a8a5-236eeac10bc1@9d8ad7f7-295f-41c6-b7d7-77af2ad17cd5

The Female Athlete Health and Performance Taskforce is hosting an interactive webinar designed specifically for athletes. The session will provide a comprehensive overview of the menstrual cycle, its role as an indicator of overall health, and the performance advantages associated with effective cycle tracking. Participants will also receive practical guidance on how to monitor and interpret their cycle to support training and recovery. In addition, the webinar will feature the official launch of the Female Athlete–Specific Infographics, which will be available through the Sport Ireland website.