National Irish Youth Championship Final Results

The Paulstown BC in Kilkenny claimed two titles at the 2012 National Youth Championships at Dublin’s National Stadium today.

Keith Flavin and Hannah Carthy, boxing at the men’s and women’s light-flyweight limits, recorded wins over Adam Courtney and Shelly Daly.

Flavin had his hands full with Courtney in the opening two minutes of this morning’s 49kg contest. The newly crowned champion found the target with some good combinations near the end of the round to open up a 7-4 lead.

Courtney, however, won the next frame 5-4 to reduce the deficit to two points, but Flavin was on target five times in the third to claim the title. Carthy, looked to be en route to a convincing win over Daly after opening up a 5-1 lead.

But Daly, who boxes out of the Ballyhaunis BC in Mayo, didn’t wilt under the first round onslaught and kept picking up points via neat lefts in the second to trail by just two points.

However, Carthy kept blasting in right/left combinations in the third and fourth to run out a 27-14 winner.

AIBA World number three ranked middleweight and Irish 2012 Olympian Darren O’Neill, also of the Paulstown BC, presented both boxers with their medals.

There was mixed fortunes for the Immaculata BC in 51kg and 56kg deciders with Nicole Meli winning, but 2011 European Youth bronze medalist Joe Fitzpatrick losing out to the impressive Christopher Nevin over three, three minutes rounds.

Nevin took every frame of this encounter to finish on top of the podium. Earlier, Meli recorded an inside the distance victory over the gallant Megan O’Donnell.

Meli, a 2011 European Junior Championships bronze medalist, is now closing in on Martin “Mac Man” Lindsay’s record. Lindsay claimed eight Irish titles at all levels for the Immaculata club.

However, Nicole “Mac Girl” Meli, who had her parents Alfredo and Kathleen working her corner today, has now won seven and is just one more National crown away from equaling the Immaculata legend.

Multiple Irish champion Kurt Walker recorded a convincing win over Cork’s Eugene Brady. The Riverstown BC man started this contest well and winged home some big shots in the opening frame. However, once Walker, of the Canal club in Antrim, started getting into his stride Brady was always going to be facing an uphill struggle.

European Junior Championships silver medalist Christine Gargan was brought all the way down to the wire by Mayo’s Lycia Heneghan. The see-saw duel for bantamweight supremacy went to a countback after both boxers finished tied at 9-9, Gargan coming for behind to level in the final round before taking the 54kg title on accepted scores.

Cork’s Karen O’Sullivan claimed the first title – and her first Irish title – of the day for Leeside at the expense of Elaine Daly. O’Sullivan had her hand raised in victory after the ref stopped the contest in round three.

The second countback of the afternoon went the way of Rachael Lally in the middleweight class. Lally was in against Robin Smith and found herself trailing after the second before taking the third on her way to victory.

Meanwhile, was this the first ever all-Clare National boxing final in the 102-year history of the IABA? It certainly appears that it was the first ever all female decider featuring two boxers from Clare in over a century of Irish pugilism.

Kayleigh Murrihy and Antoinette Keane, of the Kilfenora and Ennis clubs in the Banner County respectively, went toe-to-toe for the lightweight title at the home of Irish boxing.

The first and second rounds finished tied at 1-1 and 4-4. Keane’s pressure tactics appearing to be working in the opening exchanges of the third – a frame which finished level at 8-8 -, but Murrihy was countering well behind her long reach.

That left it all to play for in the fourth, and it was Murrihy, firing home some basic, but very effective, left/right combinations,that surged ahead to secure a 14-11 decision and a first for Irish boxing.

The Dylan Carr versus Hugh Nevin lightweight encounter, tipped in advance as a potential cracker, turned out to be a very tactical, cagey affair, for the first two rounds at least. Neither boxer dominated the first, which finished at 1-1, but Carr drove home a solid left in the second and appeared to be grabbing the initiative.

However, Nevin finished the round strongly to command a 4-2 lead. He also picked off some neat shots going down the final stretch. Carr, throwing caution to the wind, finished on the front foot, but there was no denying Nevin – who has now won ten Irish titles – on the day.

AIBA World number four ranked bantamweight John Joe Nevin, a two-time Irish Olympian, presented both boxers with their medals.

David Roche produced a fine performance versus Belfast’s Thomas Waites to help the Riverstown BC bounce back from their earlier disappointment. The Leesider looked very sharp, particularly in the first and third rounds, en route to the 64kg plaudits.

Roche, courtesy of some slick combinations to the body and head, took the first frame 4-1, but Waites held his own in the second. However,Roche upped the tempo again in the third to seal a classy win – and his third Irish title this season.

The women’s 64kg title went to Katie Hyland – but only after an edge-of-the-seat clash with Shauna Flynn. The St Anne’s and Inniskeen duo battled all the way down to the final bell before Hyland earned a 15-14 verdict.

Stephen Mulholland was crowned welterweight champion following a high-scoring three-rounder with Limerick’s John Harty. Mulholland held a four-point advantage going into the third, forcing Harty to go for broke.

It almost worked as the Shannonsider finished strong, but Mulholland, who met fire-with-fire with the final bell approaching, did enough to claim a two-point margin of victory.

Anthony Coyle brought his fans with him to the National Stadium. And the Geesala ace didn’t disappoint his supporters versus Gurteen BC middleweight Patrick Ward. Coyle took this one 9-7 against an opponent who was right in this fight up to very end.

Drimnagh BC light- heavyweight George Boylan took home the 91kg title after recording and inside the distance win over Patrick McDonagh, who took a standing count in the second.

Thomas Carthy added to his growing reputation with a 14-10 decision over Donegal heavyweight Stephen Stokes to claim the last title of the day and the last National title of the 2011/12 season.