Sport

Cream of Irish boxing eyeing 2016 Rio Olympics berth

Conor Wallace (right) of St Monica’s, Newry is hoping to cause an upset in tomorrow night’s Irish Elite middleweight final against Michael O’Reilly of Portlaoise at the National Stadium in Dublin
Conor Wallace (right) of St Monica’s, Newry is hoping to cause an upset in tomorrow night’s Irish Elite middleweight final against Michael O’Reilly of Portlaoise at the National Stadium in Dublin Conor Wallace (right) of St Monica’s, Newry is hoping to cause an upset in tomorrow night’s Irish Elite middleweight final against Michael O’Reilly of Portlaoise at the National Stadium in Dublin

THE final bell is set to toll on another successful 12 months for Irish boxing at home and abroad on Thursday night.

The year ends where it began 322 days ago in January at Dublin’s National Stadium with a rerun of the National Elite Men’s Championship finals.

The Irish Amateur Boxing Association are running the Elites twice this year to assist Ireland’s boxers heading into the various AOB, WSB and APB Olympic qualifiers in 2016.

Ten finals will be resolved tomorrow night, with world and European medallists slated to battle it out for domestic supremacy from light-fly to super-heavy.

Michael O’Reilly, the current European Games champion, is the highest ranked AIBA boxer at the the flagship tournament of Irish boxing. The Portlaoise BC man is ranked world number three and European number one at middleweight.

The 22-year-old is targeting a third successive belt in the 75kg class against Conor Wallace of  St Monica’s BC in Newry.

However, Wallace, the current intermediate champion, believes he can pull off an upset. 

Remarkably, the St Monica’s BC were only founded this year and already have an athlete within striking distance of one of the biggest prizes in Irish boxing.

Wallace said: “It’s a massive occasion. I know that I’m going into the final as a big underdog, but I’m coming off the back of a few great wins, beating Conor Coyle (Commonwealth Games bronze medallist) and Eddie Byrne on route to the final.

“There is no pressure on me. The pressure is on him. Michael isn’t world number three for nothing. He is a top class opponent and I have a lot of respect for him.

“I’m confident and I’m boxing well, I feel fit and strong and I know if I box to the best of my ability I can cause an upset.”

Meanwhile, Brendan ‘Wee Rooster’ Irvine is perched at number seven in the AIBA World light-flyweight rankings after winning European Games silver and reaching a World Elite quarter-final this year. The St Paul’s BC man has moved up a notch to flyweight.

He meets TJ Waite in an Antrim derby aiming to become the first Irish boxer to claim two Elite belts at two different weights in the same calendar year. 

The light-flyweight belt is currently vacant as January’s victor Myles Casey, who faces defending champion Kurt Walker in the 56kg final, has moved up to bantam.

Irvine is feeling strong at the new weight.

“I’m happy to get the first win, I just listened to what my coaches said. The gameplan was to draw him in and box him and just get on with it. 

“I feel a bit better, I’ve been working hard with my strength and conditioning coach,” he said after his semi-final victory.

“I look a bit different and feel a bit different as well. I’m still tall enough at the weight too. I hope it benefits me and puts me on the road to Rio.”

Elsewhere tomorrow, David Oliver Joyce, Ireland’s only AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) representative at the Elites, renews acquaintances with Sean McComb in a repeat of the 2014 final which Joyce won on a split decision to secure his fourth Elite crown.

McComb claimed the title in January and also added a European Games bronze medal to his impressive CV this year. Joyce, before inking a contract APB, won three European Union Elite belts on the bounce.

Following tomorrow’s finals, the focus of attention will to switch to April’s Olympic qualifiers in Istanbul, Turkey.

Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, Steven Donnelly and Joe Ward have qualified for Rio de Janeiro 2016.

Irish boxing will be aiming for nine other Olympics berths – three for women, six for men – in 2016.

Schedule

National Senior Elite Men’s Championship finals


Tomorrow, National Stadium, Dublin

Light-fly (49kg): Stephen McKenna (Old School) v Regan Buckley (St Teresa’s)


Flyweight (52kg): TJ Waite (Ormeau Road) v Brendan Irvine (St Paul’s, Antrim)


Bantamweight (56kg): Kurt Walker (Canal) v Myles Casey (St Francis)


Lightweight (60kg): David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s Athy) v Sean McComb (Holy Trinity)


Light-welterweight (64kg): Dean Walsh (St Josephs/Ibars) v Ray Moylette (St Anne’s)


Welterweight (69kg): Adam Nolan (Bray) v Martin Stokes (Holy Family Drogheda)


Middleweight (75kg): Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise) v Conor Wallace (St Monica’s, Newry)


Light-heavyweight (81kg): Christopher Blaney (Navan) v John Paul Delaney (Emerald Antrim)


Heavyweight (91kg): Darren O’Neill (Paulstown) v Bernard O’Reilly (Portlaoise)


Super-heavyweight (91+kg): Dean Gardiner (Clonmel) v Thomas Carty (Glasnevin)