Irish Amateur National Elite Championships This Weekend

The 2012 Irish Daily Star Sponsored National Elite Senior Championships is locked and loaded and ready to rumble at Dublin’s National Stadium.

Over 110 boxers have registered to compete at the tournament which gloves off at 7pm tomorrow evening (January 20th).
Friday’s weigh-in will take place between 8.30am and 10am and 12 noon and 1pm at the National Stadium, followed by the draw at 1.30pm.

An extra dimension has been added to the 2012 edition with the final Olympic qualifier for European male boxers penciled in for Trabzon, Turkey between April 13th and 22nd.

With Michael Conlan, John Joe Nevin and Darren O’Neill – who will all be defending their respective titles at the 2012 Championships – having already booked their tickets for the London Olympics in the flyweight, bantamweight and middleweight classes, Ireland will be targeting seven Olympic berths in Trabzon.

Ireland’s female boxers, including Katie Taylor, are aware that their only Olympic qualifier will be the AIBA Word Women’s Championships in Qinhuangdao, China in May.

Three Olympic places are available for women in the flyweight, lightweight and middleweight classes.

However, the north-eastern Turkish city of Trabzon and the Chinese province of Qinhuangdao will be put on the back burner for the next three weekends as Olympic, World, European and European Union medalists battle for supremacy at the home of Irish boxing.

Looking ahead to the blue ribband tournament of Irish amateur boxing, head coach Billy Walsh, a seven-time Elite champion and Olympian, predicted a keenly contested competition.

“The National Championships this year have the makings of the best Championships ever because there is so much at stake for so many boxers. The amount of talent we have in some weight divisions is phenomenal, he said.

“To pick out just one weight, welterweight, we have Roy Sheahan, John Joe Joyce, Willie McLaughlin, all world class boxers. We have Jason Quigley dropping down to it and Michael O’Reilly – and then there’s Adam Nolan the current champion.

“What a bunch of talent in that division. Then you have the whole Kenny Egan and Joe Ward scenario at light-heavyweight. These Championships will be phenomenal, even for the guys that have qualified for the Olympics, Michael Conan, John Joe Nevin and Darren O’Neill.

“I’m always making the point to the lads that to be National Senior champion – or Elite as its know nowadays – really is something special. I was lucky enough to win seven of them and every one of them is still very, very special to me.

“We are, of course, going to get a bit of juggling with the weights. The opportunity to qualify for the Olympics only comes around once every four years so guys are going to do whatever they can to make it.”

Ten-time Elite champion Ken Egan, who will be competing in his 12th consecutive Elite Championships, is eager to get between the ropes at IABA headquarters.

“It’s hard to believe – twelve years gone in the blink of an eye. I had a good test last November just to see if the fire is still burning. It definitely is. It goes without saying that this year is a massive year for Irish
boxing and it will all begin at the National Stadium this weekend.
“I’m looking forward to it