St Paul’s ABC were in fine form as the club claimed four golds and one silver in the 2019 Monkstown International Box Cup in Dublin.
Ten boxers from St Paul’s ABC were in action against top class competition from around the world.
Conal Dunlop and Carl Killyleagh have impressive futures ahead of them and got a chance to showcase their technique in two skills bouts.
It was then time for the eight championship boxers to strut their stuff and they delivered in style.
Tt O’Neill, riding high having won a gold medal with the Ulster youth team the week previous, won via a walk over.
Elsewhere, Cillian McNally out-boxed opponents from England and Wales on route to the final, but was left bitterly disappointed when a wrist injury ruled him out of the final.
Cleah Young faced a tough challenge against the English champion at 54kg. In a close encounter, Cleah fell just short in what was a pulsating fight.
Shayne Quinn was also involved in a ferocious battle against the reigning Irish champion. Quinn was on the back foot for the first two rounds before rallying back into contention in the third round. However, it wasn’t enough to prevent defeat via split decision.
It was then Antony Hunter’s turn to test himself against the best in the business as he faced off with the current English champion. The fight was full of non-stop action, with both boxers going toe-to-toe, but Hunter came up short in a very close fight.
Meanwhile, Tomas McCann was crowned the Youth 2 60kg champions. He beat off top-class competitors from England and Scotland to claim the gold medal.
Ben Johnston, in the Youth 2 62kg category, had too much firepower in his arsenal for his opponent to handle. Johnston was unrelenting and never took a backwards step, as he won all three rounds to capture a gold medal.
Dylan McShane had to overcome Irish and Welsh champions to set up an all-Belfast bout with Clonard starlet Connor Kelly.
However, McShane controlled the fight and won all three rounds to win yet another gold for St Paul’s ABC.
