After a difficult two years, 2022 looks promising for boxers

Boxing

While the past couple of years has been a nightmare for local clubs and club boxers in particular, with training restrictions leaving club boxers unable to train indoors and without any competitions outside of championships, Cavan/Monaghan Co Board, with clubs in Cavan, Castleblayney, Carrickmacross and Wattlebridge, continues to battle on.

Local fighters, both amateur and pro, have achieved some success and some disappointments. Due to the fact that it is a business and therefore has more finance and freedom, the professionals have seen some action and while under pressure, boxing in this area is still very much alive.

In Cavan town, the local club overcame the handicap of being forced to train outdoors, one to one, and no sparring at all as Thomas Maughan came from nowhere to upset the form book before a fairytale ending was denied as he dropped a tight 3-2 majority decision in the Elite super heavyweight final of the Irish championships.

However Thomas overcame his disappointment to take the Ulster Elite title with some very impressive performances up in Belfast.

These performances have seen him earn a call up to the NI squad for the Commonwealth Games and he starts a two-week assessment up at UCJ next week.

With a programme of international events and Box Cups planned to prepare the squad for next year’s event, Maughan can only improve.

While delighted with his protegé’s selection, veteran coach Brian McKeown has reservations after his and Andrew Murray’s exclusion some years back; despite having all the qualifications needed and being number one in Ulster, forces behind the scenes ensured he would not be selected, said McKeown.

Thomas is in full-time employment, is not a funded boxer and is due to be married soon so some kind of finance, grant or sponsorship will be needed to see him through this year.

Other Cavan boxers to compete during the last 12 months were Stephen Flynn, another veteran who came back after five years out to push the champion all the way at the Ulster Elite championships and Eamon Maughan, who competed at the Ulster seniors and along with Gowna native and Granard’s top barber Cillian O’Reilly the pair intend to have a go at the Irish U18 and Irish U22 championships respectively in January.

It was a tough call for the multi-titled Ceire Smith after missing the Olympic qualifier due to an injury picked up in the final training camp in Italy. Ceire has decided to complete her Masters degree at UCC as the female World Championships in Turkey had been deferred to January and now even that is in jeopardy with the current Covid situation.

She will continue to train with the High Performance team in Cork, train in the Ballincollig club and with her degree in the bag in time for the qualifiers for the Games 2024, she will return to chase her dream.

Ceire must be Cavan’s unluckiest boxer with wins over an Olympic Gold medalist, an Olympic silver medalist, a world champion and a European champion but she is game for more and we will see her back for sure.

Another local female boxer, and former Irish youth champion still winning is Emma Feeney who fought out of Mick Downey’s gym in Virgina and is now boxing with the East Middlesborough club in NE division in England.

At university and on a sports scholarship in Teeside where she is studying physiotherapy, she has impressed on the local circuit despite the Covid restrictions. Emma will be an entrant in both the English national and university championships early this year and all being well will travel to Sweden to compete in the Golden girl tournament.

On the local pro scene, Owen Duffy from Shercock and Dominic Donegan from Drumgoon have been joined by Harrison Jameson from Ballyjamesduff in the Boxing Ireland gym while the McKenna brothers from Smithboro remain unbeaten but yet to box in Ireland, although promoter Mick Hennessy has plans to change that very soon.

The younger sibling Arron was very impressive in his last contest, taking a World Youth title with clear victory over a very tough, aggressive Mexican Carlos Galego to remain unbeaten in 14 while older brother Steven is unbeaten at 11-0.

Local pros Donegan, with a 5-2-1 record, and Duffy, with a 5-2 record, have enjoyed mixed fortunes in the last 12 months and while it would be an ideal headliner for the first pro show in Cavan since God knows when, the feeling is that they will be kept apart for a while and box different opponents with Jameson in support as the promoters test the support in Cavan.

Donegan had three contests on the road last year and saw his unbeaten record go against Milos Janjanin after a nightmare trip to Luxembourg, was very unlucky to not get something out of his clash with Spaniard Danien Eaquaible in Belfast while a very questionable draw with the experienced Dale Arrowsmith saw him hard done by on his opponent’s home ground but as the away fighter it is always tough to get a call.

In contrast the ‘Butcher Boy’, Owen Duffy, a winner at the world club championships in USA as an amateur had only one contest and again on the road as he took a points win over Spaniard Alexandra Galadow in a frustrating 12 months.

Some rumours have a Prizefighter type tournament including Donegan, Duffy, Owen O’Neill from Belfast and Dublin’s Eddie Treacy for various Celtic and Irish titles up for grabs. It could be an interesting format with all boxing under the BoxingIreland banner and with everyone getting a very good match.