Hurlers pack a punch

A large and enthusiastic crowd turned out for county senior hurling manager Davy Fitzgerald’s boxing fund raiser for the Clare hurlers in the Queens Hotel last Friday night.
Davy was involved in a similar venture in Waterford when he was manager of the Decies and felt he might replicate the sell-out boxing show and raise funds for the Clare training and coaching programme.
The players went about their tasks through the past few weeks and with the help of the coaches and fighters in the Ennis Boxing Club they honed their skills and sought to condition themselves for the ring.
“A visit to the dressing room for a pre-fight appraisal left me wondering if the combatants were beginning to doubt their invincibility and if, perhaps, they were wishing that they were preparing for a league game or an All Ireland play-off,” said Ennis boxing coach, Colum Flynn.
“Some looked bemused and listened intently to the pre-fight instruction from the coaches but it did seem that each and every one was prepared to climb the six steps to the ring and give of their best for the cause.”
Once the opening bell rang the fighters came out firing punches as if their lives depended on the result. Though noticeably inaccurate with probing jabs they were lethal with the rights that followed and it was gratifying at the end of all the mayhem that the only visible wounds were a few black eyes.
Caimin Morey looked imperious in bout with Patrick Kelly from Clarecastle. A last minute substitute for the injured James McInerney, Kelly had little time to prepare for the fight and was understandably tentative in the first round.
He kept Morey at bay in the second, however, and it looked as though Kelly’s height and reach advantage might create a surprise but Morey regained momentum in the third for a good win.
Caimin’s cousin, Seadna, faced another Magpie in formidable form of 20-year-old Stephen O’Halloran. Although Morey fired stinging flurries of left and right hooks in the final round it was a case of too little too late and O’Halloran won by a split decision.
Inagh’s Patrick Kelly was slick and accurate in his battle with Eoin Hayes from Newmarket and it may be that Kelly’s accuracy dated back to his teens when he spend a little time in the Ennis boxing club. Hayes was stalking a moving target, seeking out his opponents chin and while he managed to land a couple of haymakers in the second round, the wily Inagh-man used his ring savvy and elusiveness to prevail in a close and entertaining encounter.
The audience played their part as they cheered every punch. Former world champion, Bernard Dunne, who attended the event as a guest, seemed enthralled by the sheer enthusiasm of the hurlers-turned-boxers, coaching at times and ultimately presenting each with his medal when the fights ended.
One fight that enthralled Bernard was the clash between Clonlara’s Donal O’Donovan and Conor Cooney from the Mills. Both defenders of high quality on the hurling field, the pair served up the best contest of the evening.
With all the pundits, backing the Clonlara man who was proving a handful in the pre-fight training sessions but he allowed Cooney the scope for his probing left jabs. The Mills man was always elusive and his ability to pick up points at long range won the day on an 8-6 scoreline.
Nicky O’Connell won a split decision against Liam Markham in an intriguing battle and the multi-talented Colin Ryan from Newmarket beat Cathal McInerney in a closely fought contest that went right down to the wire.
The Mills’ Pat Donnellan was heavily backed in his battle with Inagh/Kilnamona’s Eamonn Glynn and the pundits got it right in this one.
Donnellan was the most destructive puncher of the evening and it was a tremendous credit to the Glynn that he stayed the three rounds with the Mills man. He showed remarkable resilience, taking the fight to Donnellan in the first round only to run into two savage right hooks, which probably would have dropped most fighters.
Donnellan continued to dominate from long range through to the bell that must have been sweet music to the brave Inagh/Kilnamona man.
There was ample compensation, however, for the Inagh/Kilnamona contingent when Glynn’s brother Brian beat Andrew Fahy in a battle which referee, Tommy Lyons, had to issue a few admonitions throughout the contest when both boxers became embroiled in a slugfest. This is one that will be repeated if and when Davy decides to replicate the hostilities in the coming year.
Not only did Ennis Boxing Club provide training facilities and coaching for the combatants, they lent their experienced referees and judges to the cause. Three of the club’s top boxers were also given an opportunity to showcase their talents in front of the huge audience with Keelan Sexton, Lee Sherlock and Wayne Danagher facing opponents from the Olympic Club in Galway, Shane Ward, JJ Mongan and James Donovan respectively.
European medalist, Sexton was outstanding in his 14-9 victory over his Galway adversary and his left hooks to the body were particularly venomous as he laid down a marker for the coming National Championships.
Sherlock found the going tough against the heavier though multi-talented Mongan who thwarted Sherlocks stick-and-move tactics with accurate combinations and left hooks for an unanimous decision.
Danagher, like his clubmate Sexton, continues to improve and beat his opponent to the punch with consummate ease for a 12-8 decision.
Donovan was strong and looked capable of derailing Danagher’s ambitions in the first round when he landed with a couple of right hands but the Ennis middleweight got back on track with precision left jabs and some big right hooks of his own.
All-in-all, it was a great night’s entertainment that was well supported by the fans who came to watch and to lend their support to Clare’s League and Championship ambitions. Hurling manager Fitzgerald thanked all for their participation and attendance.