OLYMPIAN ADAM NOLAN was among the big winners at tonight’s elite male national boxing finals as the Wexford man claimed victory over John Joe Joyce.
The Bray clubman had the better of the early stages in the 69kg welterweight decider, catching Joyce as he strode forward. And Nolan was able to sustain that advantage to come away with a unanimous points decision to earn his fourth national title.
The 91kg heavyweight decider saw Olympic middleweight Darren O’Neill win out in a split decision against Athlone’s Ken Okungbowa.
O’Neill had to persevere and use his movement to overcome a larger opponent who managed to cut O’Neill before the final round.
In what was arguably fight of the night, Mayo’s Ray Moylette was unable to dethrone defending champ Dean Walsh in the 64kg light welterweight final.
The close contest was decided on a split decision, Walsh battling back aggressively after a slip in the first round when Moylette appeared ready to take control.
The only other defending champion on the night Michael O’Reilly was also successful, retaining his title with a unanimous points decision over Dundalk’s Stephen Broadhurst.
The early bouts brought unanimous points victories for Belfast, St Paul’s Brendan Irvine defeating Hugh Myers of Kildare and the Canal Club’s Kurt Walker defeated St John Bosco’s Sean Higginson. Holy Trinity’s Sean McComb won out in a split decision over George Bates in the lightweight final.
Kildare fighter Roy Sheahan claimed a national crown in the 81kg light-heavyweight final with an accomplished victory over Limerick’s Matthew Tinker. Tinker’s clubmate Myles Casey (brother of Willie) did manage to bring a title back to St Francis’, beating Evan Metcalfe in the 52kg flyweight bout.
The final fight of the night brought the national 91kg+ super heavyweight title to Dean Gardiner, the Clonmel man defeating Constantin Popovicu by unanimous decision.
