Quickfire questions!

While staying safe at home, @michaelaw57 answers some Qs on her boxing career & the teammates she’s missing.

Check out the video here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1255465964617023493

 

Almost 120 medals have been claimed by Ireland’s top young boxers in 17 years of European Schools boxing.

Irish boxing has medalled at every European Schoolboy/girls Championships since the inaugural outing in Rome in 2003.

Some of the households names of the sport in Ireland – Carl Frampton, Joe Ward, David Oliver Joyce, John Joe Joyce and many more – have finished in podium positions.

The IABA hosted the 11th edition of the tournament at the City West Hotel in Dublin in 2013 and ten medals, included two titles, remained in Ireland.

Introduced in 2018, the girls in green haven’t wasted any time getting amongst the honours with 20 medals secured so far at the European Schoolgirls.

Nineteen gold medals have been won by Irish boxers since Rome 2003.

IRELAND AT THE EUROPEAN SCHOOLBOY/GIRL CHAMPIONSHIPS

(Schoolgirls made their debut in 2018)

2003 Rome

70kg David Joyce Gold
50kg Carl Frampton Silver
52kg John Joe Joyce Bronze
54kg David Oliver Joyce Bronze
57kg John McDonagh Bronze
66kg Keith Boyle Bronze

2004 Hungary

40kg Willie O’Reilly Gold
68kg Stephen O’Reilly Gold
65kg Darren Cruise Silver
38.5kg Ryan Brady Bronze
52kg Paul Broadhurst Bronze

2005 Russia

52kg Darragh Power Silver
48kg David Joe Joyce Bronze
56kg David Joyce Bronze
59kg Bernard Roe Bronze
68kg Tommy McCarthy Bronze

2006 Ukraine

43kg Anthony Upton Bronze
54kg Tommy Kiely Bronze
56kg Fergal McRory Bronze

2007 England

44.5kg Michael O’Reilly Gold
48kg Michael McDonagh Gold
56kg Joe Ward Silver
40kg George Bates Bronze
52kg Chris Mullaly Bronze
50kg Christy Joyce Bronze
62kg Ray Ginley Bronze
68kg Dan O’Brien Bronze

2008 Serbia

54kg Dylan Carr Bronze

2009 Russia

56kg Victor Medvediuc Bronze
59kg Gerard Whitehouse Bronze

2012 Bulgaria

41.5kg John Joyce Bronze
50kg Wayne Kelly Bronze
72kg Michael Gallagher Bronze

2011 Russia

48kg John Joyce Gold
44.5kg James Cleary Silver
76kg Matthew Burke Silver
52kg Tiernan Bradley Bronze
54kg Craig Bonney Bronze
49kg Lewis Crocker Bronze
65kg Sean Conroy Bronze
68kg Keelan Sexton Bronze

2012 Russia

46kg Oliver McCarthy Gold
48kg James McGivern Gold
52kg Michael Nevin Gold
50kg John Sweeney Silver
40kg Francie Stokes Bronze
56kg Kieran Molloy Bronze
59kg Brett McGinty Bronze
65kg Darragh Murray Bronze
72kg Nevan Fannon Bronze
76+kg James Clarke Bronze

2013 Dublin (City West Hotel)

46kg Aaron McKenna Gold
59kg Jordan Myres Gold
40kg Barry McReynolds Silver
43kg Sean Whelan Silver
54kg Paul Ryan Silver
48kg Jamie Harty Silver
50kg Jason Harty Silver
41.5kg Tiernan Bradley Bronze
65kg Leon Gallagher Bronze
68kg Jordan Joyce Bronze

2014 Hungary

41.5kg Brandon O’Brien Silver
46kg Barry McReynolds Silver
40kg Luke Hurley Bronze
48kg Michael Delaney Bronze
63kg Kane Tucker Bronze
76kg Michael Walsh Bronze
76+kg Tom Gavin Bronze

2015 Russia

40kg Steve Cairns Silver
43kg Brandon McCarthy Silver
65kg Ethan McGuckin Silver
76kg Michael McDonald Silver
68kg Francis Quinn Bronze

2016 Croatia

65kg William Hayden Gold
68kg Jason Myers Gold
48kg Cian Lewis Bronze
54kg Francis Maughan Bronze
56kg Patrick Collins Bronze
59kg Jason Irwin Bronze

2017 Romania

46kg Patrick Sweeney Silver
50kg Patrick Donovan Silver
59kg Eoghan Lavin Silver
40kg Brooklyn Saunders Bronze
41.5kgJake Charkes Bronze
44.5kg Cahir Gormley Bronze
52kg Cain Lewis Bronze
56kg John Ward Bronze

Bulgaria 2018

Female

54kg Yasmin Meredith Gold
57kg Kaci Crowley Gold
63kg Winne Christina Gold
67kg Dearbhla Tinnelly Silver
70kg Nasya McJin-Igelige Silver
36kg Katie O’Keeffe Bronze
42kg Nora Jackman Bronze
45kg Robyn Kelly Bronze
48kg Robyn Murran Bronze

Male

40kg Michael Faulkner Gold
50kg James Donovan Silver
76kg Curtis Darcy Silver
54kg John Fay Bronze
72kg Tyler Meade Bronze
76kg Curtis Darcy Silver

2019 Georgia

Female

38kg Caoimhe Kinsella Gold
42kg Katie O’Keeffe Silver
44kg Esther Lambe Silver
51kg Georgia Dunne McGovern Silver
64kg Ava Rose Henry Lyndon Silver
36kg Carlagh Mullarney Bronze
40kg Shakira McCrudden Bronze
46kg Carleigh Irving Bronze
48kg Nora Jackman Bronze
57kg Alicia King Bronze
60kg Gabrielle Mongan Bronze

Male

90kg Adam Olaniyan Gold
41.5kg Sean Tyndall Silver
62kg Micheal McCarthy Silver
40kg Roy Farrelly Colgan Bronze
56kg Laurence Connors Bronze
68kg Thomas Ward Bronze
76kg Caolan Devlin Bronze

 

 

Belgrade is going back to the future for the 2021 World Men’s Elites.

The International Boxing Association yesterday announced that the biennial tournament will be held in the Serbian capital for the second time since the 2nd edition of the tournament in 1978, four years after the inaugural World Championships in Havana.

On the last occasion that the Worlds were held in Belgrade, Cuba dominated after taking home five gold and three silver medals.

The legendary Cuban heavyweight Teofilo Stevenson, a three-time Olympic champion, secured the second of his three World titles in Belgrade over four decades ago.

Tommy Corr won Ireland’s first medal at this level in Munich in 1982 after reaching the light-middle semi-final where he was beaten by eventual gold medallist, Alexandr Koshkin of the Soviet Union.

‘This is the second time for our nation to be back as hosts. Winning (a) medal at AIBA World Boxing Championships is a dream of all the boxers,” said Nenad Borovcanin, President of the Serbian Boxing Federation.

The World Championships is a relatively young tournament, as opposed to Olympic Games and European Championships which began in 1904 and 1925 in St Louis, USA and Stockholm.

The inaugural World Women’s Championships were hosted in the USA in 2001.

Click here for Ireland at the World Elites.

(Image: Joe Ward v Cuba’s Julio La Cruz in the 2017 World Elite 81kg final in Hamburg; Irish coaches Zaur Antia and John Conlan in the background)

 

 

The AIBA Men’s World Boxing Championships will take place in the city of Belgrade in 2021.

“I strongly believe that the Serbian Boxing Federation will do a fantastic job in organizing this tournament and that both the competitors and spectators will take great pleasure in the opportunity to participate in it,” said Nenad Borovcanin, President of Serbian Boxing Federation.

Click here for full AIBA statement.

Clonmel BC lightweight Shauna O’Keeffe was being given roughly the same odds against Katie Taylor in 2015 as David against the previously undefeated Goliath in the Valley of Elah.

But the Tipperary southpaw gave a fine account of herself against in the Irish Elite 60kg final against the greatest pound-for-pound female fighter of all time at the National Stadium.

The November 27 decider marked the first occasion that Taylor, who had claimed her four previous Irish belts on walkovers, fought for an Irish title.

The Bray woman, then the reigning Olympic, World, European, European Games and European Union champion, earned on a unanimous decision over the Munster lefty.

But O’Keeffe, who had Martin Hennessey in her corner and Clonmel BC staff, earned plenty of plaudits for her gutsy display in contest No. 5 at IABA headquarters.

The National Elites were run twice in 2015 to facilitate Ireland’s boxers going into the qualifiers for Rio 2016.

Kellie Harrington, Lauren Hogan, Michaela Walsh, Dervla Duffy, Moria McElligot, Claire Grace, Christina Desmond and Diana Campbell also had their hand raised in victory on November 27, 2015.

The men’s finals were decided in December of that year.

The Irish lightweight crown was the last title Taylor won in the amateur ranks and she switched codes after Rio 2016.

The Wicklow orthodox hailed O’Keeffe’s performance after a great sporting occasion and engaging bout at the home of Irish boxing

“I feel unbelievable there are no words to describe how I’m feeling. I wanted to go in and perform and put on a good show and that’s exactly what  I did. Nobody in the whole of Ireland can take the experience that I just got off her, said O’Keeffe after the clash.

“The whole of Clonmel has been following me every fight and they all got on a bus to watch me tonight and they helped me in the ring.”