Amateur boxing: Ulster Elite Championship finals
CARLY McNaul ended a 21 month exile from the ring when she claimed the flyweight crown with victory over Holy Family’s Sionnan McKenna on Ulster Elite finals night at the Girdwood Community Hub.
The Ormeau Road BC boxer hadn’t stepped between the ropes since losing out to England’s Charley Sian-Davison at the European Olympic qualifier in March 2020, and has overcome several obstacles to get back at all.
Last night’s success, which came courtesy of a measured performance as opposed to her usual all-action approach, puts McNaul in pole position for another crack at the Commonwealth Games – and this time she hopes to go one better than the silver she brought back from the Gold Coast in 2018.
“I broke my femur, had an operation on my eye and got Covid at the end of July as well, so it was good to get back in,” she said.
“There’s been loads of times I thought I might not get back, especially after having Covid. That was really hard to get over. I’m double vaccinated but I have asthma and my breathing was just… there were times you were thinking ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever get my fitness back’.
“Thankfully everything fell into place, and now I feel like I’m ready for whatever comes next. I went to the Gold Coast and no-one expected me to get anything, the final was very close. Hopefully this time I can go and get gold.”
She could be joined by Tyrone’s Jude Gallagher, after the 20-year-old claimed a 3-2 split decision victory over Conor Kerr to secure his first Ulster Elite title.
With featherweight kingpin Kurt Walker out of the picture after turning pro, the opportunity was there for Gallagher or Kerr to stake their claim for a spot in Birmingham next summer – and it was the Two Castles tornado who came through.
Gallagher – an Irish elite champion at flyweight in 2019 - landed eye-catching body-shots in all three rounds, and his crisper combinations clearly impressed the judges, even though he was seen to have lost the opening round.
With former amateur star and current pro contender Eric Donovan in his corner, Gallagher dug deep to see out the final round, his relief clear when his hand was raised.
Possibly the contest of the night came when Dominic Bradley, fighting for the third time in three nights, produced a punch-perfect third round to weather a Rory Lavery storm and claim the 60 kilo title.
The Emerald man was too quick and slick in the first but the week looked to be taking a toll on Bradley as Lavery stalked him down in the second, landing some classy right hands as the tide appeared to be turning.
But a sharp right hand saw Lavery touch down early in the third round. After receiving a standing count, he went on the offensive but Bradley found a second win to showcase his exemplary skills on the way to a 4-1 split.
Jack McGivern followed in the footsteps of brother James when he claimed the 63.5kg crown, using his height and reach to control most of his showdown with Erne’s Anthony Malanaphy.
With James having landed bronze at the last Commonwealths, his younger sibling will now be hoping for a repeat – or to go even further – if selected for Birmingham.
Eugene McKeever completed a year to remember when he got the better of Holy Family’s game Cathal Jennings, the Mullaghbawn man’s class showing as he completed a three in-a-row of Ulster elite titles.
Watching from the wings was Olympic bronze medallist Aidan Walsh, and it will be interesting to see whether there is any talk of a box-off between the pair, who faced off in the Irish Elites two years ago – Walsh getting the nod that night.
At 71kg, John Boyd took a 3-2 split decision victory over Emeka Onwuka of All Saints after a cagey encounter, before Jake Tucker showed glimpses of his undoubted class as he successfully defended his middleweight crown with a 3-2 split decision win over Lex Weston.
Southpaw Tucker was too quick and accurate in the first round, throwing shots from unorthodox angles and landing combinations at will as Weston was rocked several times.
However, Weston served notice that he wasn’t finished yet when landing a big right that sent Tucker’s gumshield flying from his mouth early in the second, only for the Newry man to reasserted his control.
But Weston kept coming, and rocked Tucker to his socks midway through the third round before a frenetic end to an absorbing encounter – the Emerald man prevailing.
At light-heavy, Ballymena’s Rory Kinney was mixing it at elite level for the first time, and showed he has a future at this level after pushing Gerard French all the way, even forcing the experienced west Belfast man into a standing count in the third.
French’s solid jab saw him dominate the first but, as he tired, so former Northern Ireland pool player Kinney grew in confidence, catching his opponent with two solid uppercuts.
There was little between them in the third until a big left right combination left French flailing, but he managed to hang on to secure the win.
Following a 10 bell tribute to Ulster boxing stalwart Martin Walsh, who passed away last month, Nicole Clyde proved too savvy for Chloe Fleck in the female light-fly final to get the night’s action under way.
The Antrim southpaw couldn’t miss with the left hand throughout and although Fleck continued to battle gamely, landing some good straight rights, she was unable to change the momentum of the fight.
As the Canal woman tired in third round, Clyde finished strongly to take the title.
Ricky Nesbitt and Padraig Downey served up a cracker in the male light-fly decider, with Nesbitt – who represented Ireland at the World Elite Championships in October – awarded a unanimous decision win after a nip and tuck fight.
That was slightly harsh on Downey, dropping back down to 48 kilos. The St John Bosco man acquitted himself well, arguably taking the second round after landing two impressive flurries.
However, while Downey was more economical with his work, Nesbitt kept circling on the outside, often having the last word in exchanges to catch the judges’ eye.
Last year’s champion Diarmuid Toland, who had to withdraw from the 2021 competition due to tonsillitis, will be hoping he can get a crack at Nesbitt as the race for Commonwealth spots hots up.
There was something of an upset at flyweight as Cookstown’s Craig Biggar got the better of current Irish elite champion Paddy McShane following an intriguing battle.
The smaller Biggar looked sharper early on, though Letterkenny’s McShane was landing the more eye-catching shots as the fight wore on. But Bigger stayed busy through the whole thing rounds, landing some clever shots from the outside, to get the nod on a 3-2 split.
In the final two fights of the night, Monkstown heavyweight Charlie Boyle scored a unanimous decision win over Newington’s Stephen McMullan, before Cavan’s Thomas Maughan edged past super-heavy rival Aaron Travers on a 3-2 split.
Ulster Elite Championship final results
F48kg: N Clyde (Antrim) bt C Fleck (Canal) 5-0
M48kg: R Nesbitt (St John Bosco, Newry) bt P Downey (St John Bosco, Belfast) 5-0
51kg: C Biggar (Cookstown) bt P McShane (Letterkenny) 3-2
F52kg: C McNaul (Ormeau Road) bt S McKenna (Holy Family) 5-0
F54kg: N Meli (Immaculata) bt C McComiskey (Gilford) 5-0
57kg: J Gallagher (Two Castles) bt C Kerr (Monkstown) 3-2
60kg: D Bradley (Emerald) bt R Lavery (Holy Family) 4-1
F60kg: A Broadhurst (St Bronagh’s) bt C Gargan (St George’s) RSC2
63.5kg: J McGivern (St George’s) bt A Malanaphy (Erne) 5-0
69kg: E McKeever (St Malachy’s, Newry) bt C Jennings (Holy Family) 5-0
71kg: J Boyd (Gleann) bt E Onwuka (All Saints) 3-2
75kg: J Tucker (Emerald) bt L Weston (Ardoyne HC) 3-2
80kg: G French (Emerald) bt R Kinney (Scorpion) 4-1
92kg: C Boyle (Monktown) bt S McMullan (Newington) 5-0
92+kg: T Maughan (Cavan) bt A Travers (Carrickmore) 3-2
Walkovers
50kg: C Fryers (Immaculata); 54kg: J O’Neill (Corpus Christi); 57kg: M Walsh (Monkstown); 66kg: E Nugent (Immaculata); 70kg: R Doherty (Star); 86kg: K Tucker (Emerald)
