Keenan one step from national glory

Ennis heavyweight Martin Keenan completed a hat-trick of wins in the Irish Novice Boxing Championships in the National Stadium in Dublin last Saturday. He is now fancied to capture his first ever national title when he meets John O’Connor from Thurles in the final on Friday, February 8.

Keenan has just turned 18 and was the youngest contender in the heavyweights, but he has shown remarkable form to date. He won his preliminary and quarter-final bouts inside the distance en-route to Saturday’s semi-final and, while Dunboyne’s Bobby Kingsley proved a tougher nut to crack, he won a comprehensive 10-3 decision over the Meathman in a dour battle.
Keenan is a big hitter, but can also box well and his movement and general ringcraft against Kingsley was emphatic.
The Ennis boxer is excited about his first appearance in an Irish final and it is anticipated that he will be boxing in front of a packed stadium on this occasion.
The National Senior Elite Championships get underway in Dublin that night and the novice heavyweight final will serve as a curtain-raiser for the occasion. Keenan’s opponent, John O’Connor, beat Joe Hirst (Ballinacarrow) in the other semi-final on an 11-10 scoreline and while all of the other finals were decided on Saturday, this one had to be deferred under the one fight per day rule and the Ennis fighter is relishing the prospect on the big night in Dublin alongside Ireland’s elite boxers.
On the local scene, the final bouts of the triangular match with St Francis BC Limerick and Clonmel BC were boxed off last Sunday in the Ennis club. The final results on Sunday left the Limerick club with four wins, Ennis BC with four also and the Clonmel club with three. The cumulative figures show Ennis as the winners with 13, while Limerick and Clonmel finish with 11 each.
European medalist Keelan Sexton was the star of the evening’s tournament with a sparkling victory over Clonmel’s Shane McGrath. It was a huge step for the Quilty youngster who boxes out of the Ennis club, as he moved up to middleweight to take on the burly teenager from the Clonmel club.
He found the going tough in the first round and McGrath’s massive reach advantage had him pinned back early on, before he found his range with a scoring left hand jab in the second. Sexton picked off the Clonmel fighter with left hooks to the head and body as the bout progressed and he embellished his work with two rights to McGrath’s chin as he romped to a 19-9 victory in the end.
Young Davy Keenan, a brother of heavyweight Martin, produced a superb display of controlled aggression to beat Clonmel’s Ken Dillon 16-10 and garnered the best boxer award for his displays over the three legs of the series. He is proud of brother Martin and hopeful that he will go all the way in his battle for the heavyweight crown next week.
Two 64kg contenders, Pat McDaid and Cillian O’Gorman, impressed with solid performances on Sunday. While McDaid completely overwhelmed Luke O’Donnell from Limerick, O’Gorman was beaten 18-14 by Blaine O’Brien from Clonmel.
Irish champion Brian McDonagh won his 70kg battle with Limerick’s Colum Ryan but had to battle all the way in a battle of attrition. The Ennis boxer has been beset by injuries this season but is confident that he will be in top shape for the upcoming provincial and national championships.

Results
36kg John C McDonagh (Ennis) lost to Damian Farrell (Clonmel).
36kg Peter Quinn (Ennis) lost to Tyrique Casey (St Francis Limerick).
Bruce Pigott (Ennis) lost to Jason Sherlock (St Francis).
42kg Dave ‘Boy’ Keenan (Ennis) Bt Kenny Dillon (Clonmel).
Lee Kelly (Clonmel) bt Jay Casey (St Francis).
Jake Ryan (Ennis) lost to Tom O’Neill (St Francis).
48kg Sean Tierney (Ennis) lost to John O’Reilly (St Francis).
64kg Pat McDaid (Ennis) bt Luke O’Donnell (St Francis).
Cillian O’Gorman (Ennis) lost to Blaine O’Brien (Clonmel).
70kg Brian McDonagh (Ennis) bt Colum Ryan (St Francis).
75kg Keelan Sexton (Ennis) bt Shane McGrath (Clonmel).