Eight Donegal boxers have advanced to the National Boys and Junior Championships finals after winning Ulster titles in Newtownstewart yesterday.
At the 2,000 Centre, six Donegal boxers took victory in the ring with another two winning on walkovers.
There were 29 finals with 12 Derry boxers and nine from Tyrone also advancing.
2016 Irish champion Paddy McShane of Letterkenny ABC took the win in the Boy 4 36kgs final. The explosive McShane overcame John Stokes from Erne.
Former Irish champion Eoin McGarrell (Raphoe ABC) came good to defeat Craig Bigger of Cookstown in the Junior 1 final at 48kgs. McGarrell won an Irish crown in his time at Finn Valley ABC and is off to the National Stadium now in search of another, this time in Raphoe’s colours.
Picture caption: Eoin McGarrell with Raphoe ABC coaches Gary McCullagh and Gerard Keaveney.
Raphoe’s Oisin McHugh turned in a massive performance to get over Sean McGenity, a two-time Irish champion from Silverbridge.
Jesse Callaghan from Illies Golden Gloves came away with the Boy 4 44kgs crown as he defeated Shea Loughran from the Mark Heagney club and Joe Harkin from Letterkenny defeated Tyler Murray from Old School in Monaghan to claim the Boy 42 kgs title
And Carrigart middle Barry Donnelly defeated Cookstown’s Charles Maughan in the Boy 4 75kgs final.
The weigh-ins for the national finals is on Sunday next, March 19, in the Station House in Omagh from 9-10am, while boxing begins on Friday-week, March 24.
Two other Donegal punchers won by way of walkovers: Dunfanaghy ABC’s Sean Kelly and Illies Golden Gloves’ EJ Gibbons.
Raphoe’s Liam McMonagle lost out to Shane O’Gorman from St Malachy’s in the Boy 4 54kgs final, while Justin Nelson of Carndonagh was beaten by Liam Finnegan from Silverbridge in the Junior 1 final at 54kgs.
Another Raphoe man, Tom Doherty, was beaten by Michael Ward from Omagh in the Junior 80+kgs decider.
Oisin Devlin from Carndonagh lost out to Joe Murphy from St Monica’s in the Junior 2 final at 66kgs, with Illies’ Tiernan Ming beaten by Rian Mulholland from Newry at 80kgs in the Junior 2.
Oisin McHugh has his hand raised in victory
