Keenan crowned Irish champion

 

EIGHTEEN-year-old Martin Keenan from Ennis was crowned Irish novice heavyweight boxing champion on Friday night last.

Twenty seconds into the final against John O’Connor from Thurles, Keenan landed a combination that ended the Thurles clubman’s involvement in the fight.

Having taken up the sport only 18 months ago, Keenan has made spectacular progress to date. O’Connor threw a few left-handers in the opening flurry but Keenan caught him with a left counter and followed up with a right uppercut, which finished the Tipperary boxer’s final.

The new Irish champion, whose father Jim also boxed with the club and whose younger brother Davy is expected to do well in the upcoming juvenile championships, had four fights on his way to the title.

He won the first two inside the distance, before being taken the full distance in the semi-final against Bobby Kingsley.

Martin told The Clare Champion this week that his interest in the sport developed from going to the club with his 12-year-old brother, Davy.

“I used to bring Davy to the club for training and got interested from watching the training and the tournaments. I decided to have a go,” he said.

Clearly happy that he won three of his four fights on the way to the Irish title inside the distance, he said, “My father had a knock-out punch and I got it from him”.

Martin explained that he saw his final opponent box in earlier rounds. “I knew what I was up against,” he said.

When asked what his next target is, he replied, “The U-18 championships will be on in May and I will have a go at that and I am also looking at the U-23 championships, which are due to take place next October”.

In the meantime, he will continue to train at the Ennis club and box in a few tournaments. “Davy will be boxing in the county championships next week and I will be there to support him,” he said.

He availed of the opportunity to pay tribute to the officials at the Ennis club, saying, “Without them I would not have achieved this win”.

While Martin’s national title win is causing great celebrations in the Keenan house this week, it’s not the only reason to celebrate.

Martin’s sisters, Mary and Kathleen, are making quite a name for themselves as country music singers, while younger brother Davy is also an accomplished singer. Between them, they have already recorded a number of CDs and this Saturday, Mary, Kathleen and Davy will appear on RTÉ’s Saturday Night Show with Brendan O’Connor.

When asked if he will be joining them to sing a song, Martin said, “No. I will stick to the boxing but I will support them. I am one of their biggest fans.”

Clare championships
THE weigh-in for the upcoming county juvenile championships will take place next Monday night at the Ennis Community Centre.

The championships will commence on Wednesday night and a big entry is expected as boxers chase qualification for the Munster championships, which are set for Limerick on March 2 and 3.

The bigger entries will come from Ennis and Kilfenora but Shannon and Doolin, who affiliated clubs recently, are also expected to have boxers challenging for county honours.