Photo Courtesy of DUBC
Sarah Ledden | Contributing Writer
The fighting nature of the Irish was captured in London this summer as Darren O’ Neill led out the boxers that would largely contribute to equal 1957 with the biggest medal haul achieved by Ireland in any Olympic Games. Dublin University Boxing Club have seen a surge in their training numbers since September and the Junior Inter-Varsity Championship is the ideal setting for new boxers to début or gain valuable experience. Trinity’s Auxiliary Hall may not compare with London’s ExCel arena but the pressure was on for DU Boxing club as they played host to NUI Galway and UCD on Friday night. After the sudden loss of a former DU Boxing Club member, Rob Karnagy, during the week the performance was dedicated to him.
On the back of three wins out of four bouts against DIT in November, coach Dan Curran was quietly confident ahead of the bouts. Tom Seaver opened the night facing NUIG’s Aedán Breathnagh in an aggressive bout. Seaver appeared the stronger of the two opponents with Breathnagh becoming cautious in the second round. This often left Seaver advancing while Breathnagh focused more on counter-punching efforts. This tactical approach was not enough to stop Seaver who was announced the first victor of the night.
The next bout saw Cian McGenra face John Evans of NUIG. The difference in weight class was evident as the aggressive strength that dominated Seaver’s 85kg class was replaced with lightning speed in this 60kg clash. Despite showing quick hands and feet McGenra found himself tangled against the ropes on many occasions in the bout, as Evans chased him like a spider into his web. Even the bell couldn’t stop them as the referee had to push the pair apart. It was difficult to call between two closely matched opponents, but despite Evans holding his hand up in victory it was McGenra who walked away with the gold medal.
The celebrations were short lived as the opening two victories were followed by a series of defeats for Trinity. One of the more interesting fights to watch was the southpaw, Conor Curran, against Jack Higgins (NUIG) who holds an orthodox stance. Contenders in Juniors, usually have little experience with a maximum of five previous bouts permitted, so it was fascinating to watch Higgins adjust his approach to deal with the only southpaw competing. The unusual stance proved advantageous for Curran in the opening round, but after consultation at the break Higgins began ducking below Curran’s long jabs in attempts to score through body shots. In one of the bloodiest affairs of the evening, Higgins survival instincts and useful coaching lead him to a valiant victory.
Kevin Mahon was forced to retire in the second round as his long reach proved worthless and he succumbed to a range of inside hooks. The referee also called Nick Morgan’s bout to a close in the first round as Sam Brownett’s experience shined through in UCD’s opening fight. Aaron Walsh fought like a brave warrior determined to defend his turf but his battle against NUIG’s David Lynan proved too much causing Walsh to retire after the second round. There was victory also for UCDs Kevin Casey over Tom Austin, as Austin failed to defend himself effectively, breaking one of the prime rules by leaving his hands down, leaving his face exposed to Casey’s jabs. Despite Austin throwing more punches, Casey’s shots were much more technical choosing accuracy over aggression and was rewarded accurately by the judges.
Like a typical Irish soccer team, Trinity’s form improved towards the end of the contest. In the super heavyweight bout Toby Lywood and UCD’s Alex Erbguth were like dancing giants jumping around the ring with such intensity that the referee seemed most afraid of being knocked out, dodging more punches than the competitors as he struggled to find room in the ring to stand. In a very physical contest, the lack of experience became clear as Erbguth’s frustration toward Lywood’s domination began to affect his performance, at one stage swinging back his arm as if to serve a tennis shot. Lywood easily took advantage of this desperation forcing Erbguth to retire. One of the biggest crowd pleasers arrived from France when Gasper Perret took the simple ‘left jab, right hook’ to new levels when he delivered as close to a knock-out blow any Junior championship will allow, causing his UCD opponent Niall Gates to fall to the ground seeing stars less than a minute into the bout.
In the only female fight billed Laura Healy took on Katie Kavanagh, currently the only female boxer training in UCD. The women’s bout was a breath of fresh air for the spectators as the aggression and tension that drove the male boxers was suspended as the females took a more tactical approach. Both were cautious in approaching, but once contact had been made there would be a quick succession of attacking and counter punching. After a long, mentally draining fight it was Kavanagh who came out on top, but no doubt Healy will look forward to a possible rematch in Colours.
Since London, interviews with Katie Taylor have mentioned the increase in female boxers in the sport, however the results of this were not evident at this event. As Trinity had more girls prepared than there were opponents an exhibition match was scheduled between Lauran Kilmartin and Tara Shaw to showcase the potential of women’s boxing at Trinity. The exhibition was declared a draw with both boxers eager for a more competitive bout in this month’s Colours.
Blood, sweat and tears sprinkled the ring by the end of the night, with coach Dan Curran’s prediction proven as dark horses emerged from the shadows knocking their opponents off their feet (literally). For many their first experience in the ring will be marked with bad memories that will act as fuel to motivate them to keep their engines running through the tough training sessions that will doubtlessly precede Colours on February 14th. Some marvellous performances from UCD will leave the Trinity boxers quaking in their boots, but there were some sparks shown in this contest that may ignite into more serious flames in the future. If over the next two weeks the Trinity boxers focus as much on defensive techniques than aggression they will prove more ferocious and harder to beat when the titans clash against UCD on Valentine’s Day.
