FOUR DONEGAL boxers will take to the canvas of the National Stadium this weekend at the National Intermediate Championships.
Finn Valley’s Michael Gallagher (pictured above) and Dungloe’s Mark McCole have semi-finals to look forward to while Austeja Auciute (Finn Valley) and Maeve McCarron (Carrigart) will be in action in finals.
Gallagher and Auciute have 19 Irish titles between them and will be fancied to add to the count this weekend.
Ten-time champion Gallagher has made light work of both Cian O’Shaunnessy and James Hughes so far in Dublin.
After overcoming Letterkenny’s Michael McConigley in the Ulster Intermediate final, he stopped Rathkeale’s O’Shaunnessy in the National preliminary round last weekend.
On Saturday, the hammer-handed heavyweight wasted no time in putting Ryston’s Hughes to the sword with Gallagher, a bronze medal at the 2014 Youth Olympics, winning inside the opening round to advance into the semi-finals.
Philip Hickey from Paulston provides Gallagher with opposition in this Friday’s semi.
McCole is aiming to add to his previous two successes at national level and the recently-crowned Boxer of the Tournament at the Ulster Intermediates in Belfast has made it to the semi-finals.
A week on from a comfortable win over Eddie Lawrence (Holy Family), he took victory on a majority decision against Southside’s Lee Reeves on Friday night in the quarter-final and now meets Keane McMahon from Ballybough in this Friday’s semi.
Auciute, a bronze medalist at the Women’s World Youth and Junior Championships in 2011, has won nine Irish crowns and is preparing for a tilt at this weekend’s final, as is Carrigart’s McCarron.
Auciute meets Cheyanne O’Neill from Athlone in the 64kgs final with McCarron up against Jenny Carlyle from Enniscorthy at 81+kgs.
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