Updated 23.45
OLYMPIC SILVER MEDALLIST Kenneth Egan has announced his retirement following defeat in tonight’s National Elite Championship Finals.
In search of an 11th senior title in his 13th straight final, Egan was dismantled by a brilliant performance from defending light-heavyweight champion Joe Ward.
Ward, 19, outpunched and outpowered the more experienced Egan for a massive 25-5 win in the 81kg decider at the National Stadium in Dublin.
It completes a hat-trick of senior titles for the teenager from Moate, County Westmeath who came of age when he first beat Egan in the 2011 final. Tonight he brought down the curtain on the career of one of Ireland’s finest boxers as Egan, 31, left the ring to a sustained standing ovation.
Elsewhere on the 14-bout card, London Olympians Michael Conlan and Adam Nolan retained their respective flyweight and welterweight titles while gold medallist Katie Taylor won on her return to the ring with a comfortable 28-5 defeat of Poland’s Karolina Graczyk. Taylor now prepares for her sold-out Road to Rio promotion where she faces Maike Klueners in Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre on Sunday.
For flyweight finalist Chris Phelan, it was another case of deja vu as he closed the book on his unhappy trilogy against Conlan. It is the third successive year that these two have met in the 52kg decider and again Conlan showed his class, taking control of a tight contest early on and running out 20-9 winner.
Nolan also made it three-in-a-row, though his 21-13 win over Willie McLaughlin was not without its nervous moments, particularly in the last 90 seconds as the man from Illies Golden Gloves scrapped to get something out of an entertaining bout.
With six-time national champion Paddy Barnes forced to withdraw from this year’s title defence through illness, 2012′s beaten finalist Hugh Myres of Ryston came through to claim his first light-flyweight title, beating TJ Waite 17-8.
In one of the fights of the evening, Ross Hickey defended his light-welterweight belt in a barnstorming contest against Mayo man Ray Moylette. Moylette, the European champion at 64kg, rocked Hickey with a powerful right in the middle of the second and left the contest poised at 8-8 before Hickey pulled clear for a 15-11 win.
The bantamweight title, left vacant following an injury to defending champion John Joe Nevin, went to Crumlin’s Declan Geraghty who scored a 16-7 win against Gary McKenna while Belfast’s Sean McComb took home lightweight honours following a 19-7 win against Dubliner George Bates.
Donegal’s Jason Quigley added a national championship to his European U23 gold medal as he held off the gutsy challenge of Roy Sheehan in an absorbing middleweight final while, for the second year running, Tommy McCarthy scored a knockout win to top the heavyweight division. McCarthy knocked Drimnagh’s Jimmy Sweeney down in the second round and finished the job moments later, connecting with a sweet right to the chin.
In the women’s featherweight final, Michaela Walsh was a one-point winner against Joanna Lambe. Dervla Duffy stopped Michelle Lynch in the second round of the bantamweight final to complete a double for Kildare’s Ryston BC, while Kelly Harrington beat Sarah Close 13-10 in the light-welterweight decider.
National Elite Boxing Championships — Finals
- 49kg: Hugh Myres (Ryston) 17-8 TJ Waite (Cairn Lodge)
- W 57kg: Michaela Walsh (Holy Family) 14-13 Joanna Lambe (Carrickmacross)
- 52kg: Michael Conlan (St John Bosco) 20-9 Chris Phelan (Ryston)
- 64kg: Ross Hickey (Grangecon) 15-11 Ray Moylette (St Anne’s)
- 56kg: Declan Geraghty (Crumlin) 16-7 Gary McKenna (Old School)
- 60kg: Sean McComb (Holy Trinity) 19-7 George Bates (St Mary’s)
- 75kg: Jason Quigley (Finn Valley) 15-6 Roy Sheehan (St Michael’s Athy)
- 91kg: Tommy McCarthy (Oliver Plunkett) KO3 Jimmy Sweeney (Drimnagh)
- 81kg: Joe Ward (Moate) 25-5 Ken Egan (Neilstown)
- W 60kg additional bout: Katie Taylor (Ireland) 28-5 Karolina Graczyk (Poland)
- 69kg: Adam Nolan (Bray) 23-12 Willie McLaughlin (Illies GG)
- W 54kg: Dervla Duffy (Ryston) RSC2 Michelle Lynch (Golden Gloves)
- W 64kg: Kelly Harrington (Corinthians) 13-10 Sarah Close (Holy Family)
- 91+kg: Sean Turner (Drimnagh) 21-8 Niall Kennedy (Gorey)
Ciaran McDonald is the better footballer I think, O’Connor seems to get a lot of his scores from frees.
Is the last point of the article about Jim McGuiness giving a class on sledging true? First I have heard of it.
Re: the sledging, it is true if you believe what you read it Kevin Cassidy’s book – the book that saw him kicked off the team. Donegal had a team meeting and decided to use it to get into the heads of other teams.
Ciaran McDonald. need I say more…
“He is in the top two or three players in the country” what a joke of a statement. Hardly Mayo bias on Bradys part.
Michael Murphy, James O’Donoghue, Gooch, Paul Flynn to name but a few that are better outside Mayo and I would argue Keith Higgins and Aidan O Shea are better also within the Mayo team. He doesn’t have the speed to ever be the forward Mayo need to win an AI.
Finally saying he is better than Mcdonald should be a form of blasphemy punishable by death.
God, I really wish David Brady would keep quiet! Has he not enough pressure on his shoulders already? He has a long way to go before he can consider himself better than Ciarán MacDonald, James Nallen or even Alan Dillon.
He’s the best cry baby I’ve ever seen
Mayo for Ham
McDonald without a doubt was better,o connor is good but don’t know if he’d make the top 3 in the country even,gooch,brogan,Murphy ahead of him for me
conor McManus is up there too, basically carries Monaghan
He’s a great man to knock over a 14 yard free though in fairness
dosent matter how good he is.all he,ll ever win is connaught medals.
The amount of hype about Mayo in general is unreal. The Newcastle United of Gaelic football
By the most cynical analysts of Ireland Mayo are nowhere outside the top 4 teams of the country, bit of a stretch to compare us to a team nearly relegated in the English league.
Ah come on, I would say we’re the Holland of Gaelic football…
He can be but not yet….
His turning out to be a brilliant footballer. Finally Mayo have a quality scoring forward. Can’t remember Mayo having one of these. Had some serious injuries. Not as good as Ciaran Mc tho.
Id say there’s a few boys who saw Peter Solan, Tom Langan, Eamon Mongey, Pairic Carney, Peter Quinn, and the like who might not agree.
I agree with the Luke fella fully,o Conner is probably the most overated player in the county
He scored one point from play on Sunday…Brady is and always has been a meathead
Era Mayo are only bottlers. They get a dirty nappy when it’s the third Sunday of September. Couldn’t hold it together down in Limerick either.
if he wins an all ireland he will be! your nobody in gaelic or hurling until you have an all ireland senior
NO!
O’connor may be good but better than Ciaran McDonald not a chance.Let me put it this way would O’Connor pull a game out of the fire the way a gooch,brogan or Murphy would??
Conor McManus far better player not just with Monaghan but he was the best player on the pitch in the most recent Compromised Rules match.
No.
When this guy kicks 10 points in an All Ireland then we can have this debate. Bloody hell
This fella comes across as an ignorant fan.