Tag Archives: boxing

HE grew up in England aware he was adopted, but Simon Edwards never looked into his origins until after his own children were born. When he did he unearthed an incredible story, as he was the result of Clare liaison between Rosemary Ruane and the legendary US boxing commentator Bob Sheridan who died last year. Sheridan, also known as the Colonel, was a boxing Hall of Famer, who called over 1,000 world title fights in an amazing career. He was at ringside for nights like the Rumble in the Jungle and the Thrilla in Manilla and was in Tokyo for Buster Douglas’s sensational KO of Mike Tyson. Younger boxing fans may have heard his commentary on fights involving present-day stars like Tyson Fury, Canelo Alvarez and Anthony Joshua. For a period in the 1970s and 80s, Sheridan, himself the son of Irish emigrants to the US, lived an incredible double life. He would spend much of the week farming in …

DAVID Ryan is the BUI Celtic super lightweight champion after a night of huge drama in Dublin. His title fight with Tony McGlynn was a real epic, but even its drama was overshadowed by the events that followed the final bell. While referee Emile Tiedt appeared to be raising Ryan’s hand, Tony McGlynn was announced as the winner on a scoreline of 78-73, to the consternation of the Ryan supporters in the crowd. However that announcement was a mistake, due to a very unfortunate breakdown in communication,  and it was later confirmed that Ryan is the new champion. Clare fight fans will naturally be delighted that Ryan was the winner, and he did deserve the victory, but one would have to have huge sympathy for McGlynn who was thrown from elation into despair. From the first bell this was a completely absorbing fight, and the two fighters setting an electric pace from the outset. McGlynn started well and probably took …

FIGHTING on the Katie Taylor undercard tonight, Ennis boxer Paddy Donovan moved to 11-0 with a very impressive TKO against Sam O’Maison. The English fighter came to Dublin with 17 victories and just four defeats, and was potentially the most dangerous opponent Donovan had met. But from the first bell there was only one man in it, Donovan dominating the action, softening his opponent up with some big shots before ending it in the sixth. It was impressive stuff from a focused looking Donovan, as he punished the head and body of O’Maison throughout, winning every round. Generally on the front foot himself, Donovan dealt easily with any O’Maison attacks, showing some neat footwork and elusiveness on the few occasions it was required. While the 3Arena was still far from full, there was plenty of vocal support for the Ennis man, with the noise levels rising every time he applied the pressure. The first stanza saw Donovan set the tone, …

BIG time boxing came back to the west of Ireland on Friday night, with a sell-out show at Leisureland in Salthill. There was a major Clare interest as Shannon’s David Ryan opened the Conlan Boxing/Top Rank promoted show, with a shut-out points victory over the Costa Rican Berman Sanchez. While Ryan won every one of the six rounds convincingly, his 39 year old opponent was a tough and thick-set fighter, and it never looked like the fight would not go the scheduled six rounds. The tone for the fight was set very early on, with Ryan delivering a number of snappy body punches, as he was on the front foot continuously. In the second the visiting fighter did land a couple of left hooks, but Ryan was still very much on top, and he delivered an excellent left hand mid way through the round, reflecting his superiority. Ryan landed some solid right hands in the third, with a bit more …

Seven talented underage Clare boxers will compete in the upcoming National Championships. Ennis Boxing Club’s trio Patrick Sweeney, John Sweeney and Jack Liddy will all be competing in the National Championships alongside Kilfenora BC’s Aaron Murphy, Pat O’Donoghue and Kirsty Gilligan. Shannon BC’s Mariah McDonagh will also lace up her gloves for this event. In order to reach the All Ireland series, these seven talented boxers needed to come through County and Munster Championships Patrick Sweeney will fight in the 68kg category as he faces Charlie Ward at the semi-final stage on April 11. Should he come through that bout, the Cooraclare native will then box either Tommy Harper or Dublin’s Kyle Keating in the final. His brother John is a talented boxer who also plays rugby with Ennis RFC. John has previously claimed an Irish title. The older Sweeney brother will be keen to regain national silverware. Jack Liddy will compete at the 65kg weight class. He will fight …

THERE were victories for Ennis boxers and brothers Edward and Paddy Donovan at the National Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night. They were fighting on Jay Quigley’s undercard, with the Donegal man making his first ring appearance since coming up short in his world title challenge against Demetrius Andrade in 2021. Edward had a hard fought six round contest against Frank Madsen, and while he ultimately secured a wide points victory, ‘the Dominator’ had to earn it against a tough opponent, who never stopped trying. Edward’s support was one of the features of the night, so enthusiastic at times that it almost looked like they’d climb in the ring to help their man. For Paddy it was a more straightforward night’s work, as he knocked down Luis Eduardo Borges Da Silva four times before the referee called a halt in the very first round. The victory brings his record to 10-0 with seven knockouts. Paddy is set to have his …

SHANNON boxer David Ryan will have the second fight of his professional career in Belfast on February 4, when he takes on Marek Laskowski. “They’re moving me up to a six rounder this time, which is great, and it’ll help get my name out there,” he said on Monday. He will be fighting on the Jamie Morrissey-Kevin Cronin undercard, the two fighting for the vacant BUI Celtic Light Heavyweight title. Morrissey is from Limerick and trains with David, while Cronin is a Kerryman, but the bout is still happening north of the border. “It’s hard enough to get venues in the south. The insurance can be very expensive, but up in Belfast it’s a lot cheaper,” says David. Laskowski has nine victories and 17 defeats on his record, and Ryan is expected to win comfortably in February, but this week he admitted knowing relatively little about his opponent. Ryan made his debut in November, and while he won a points …

CLARE professional boxer David Ryan has been nominated for the irish-boxing.com Professional Debut of the Year Award. David is one of five nominated and describing his debut, the irish-boxing.com blurb said, “The Shannon kickboxing convert was thrown straight in at the deep end in November when he was matched with Nicaraguan dangerman Brayan Mairena in Belfast. Ryan rose to the challenge in a fun war and we can’t wait to see him in domestic fights at light welterweight.” David’s professional debut was televised on TG4 and he won on points after a hugely entertaining four rounds. Speaking to the Clare Champion in the aftermath of the fight, he said he hadn’t found it very taxing. “Not at all. The fight was actually fairly easy. The first three rounds I won fairly handily and in the fourth I took the foot off the gas and counterpunched a small bit, let him come and do the work, I didn’t have to chase …