Sherlock to face Joyce in 60kg fight

ENNIS boxer Lee Sherlock will box Tom Joyce from St Michael’s in Athy in the National 60kg Youth Championship semi-final at the National Stadium this Friday.

Joyce is a brother of Irish Olympic boxer, John Joe and is favourite to progress to the finals. However, Sherlock has impressed this season and en route to this stage of the championship and will travel to Dublin determined to cause an upset.
Meanwhile, there was disappointment for champion Keelan Sexton last weekend when he was beaten 6-4 in the semi-final of the National Youths Championship. Earlier in the season, the Mullagh teenager had beaten Damian Ward from St Ailbe’s in Galway by an 11-2 margin but on this occasion he struggled to reproduce that form.
Sexton’s preparations were hampered by a shoulder injury and he made a poor start to the fight and was two points down at the end of the first round. He fought back well in the second, at the end of which he had closed the gap to 4-3. A public warning resulted in the loss of two points, which was a big blow and while he piled on the pressure in the third and knocked down his opponent, it wasn’t enough to claim victory. Sexton was the defending champion and he was going for a fourth title in succession.
A member of the National Elite panel, Sexton will now turn his attention to the Cadet Championships in May.
Kilfenora’s Padraig Malone also bowed out of the championships at the weekend, when he suffered a 9-4 loss in the semi-final of the 70kg Boy 4 Championship.