Exciting action for enthusiasts at Meath boxing championships

Trim GAA club hosted the first day of the Meath Boxing Championship finals on Sunday with seven clubs from the Royal County represented and six from Louth. There was also the small issue of nine titles to be decided and that contributed to some exciting action with more finals scheduled for next weekend at the same venue. In the main event of the afternoon, the Youth 1 75kg final, Ashbourne's Kane Joyce got the better of Evan Gunning (South Meath) after a great contest. There was plenty of heavy hitting as both boxers leapt from the traps. However, Joyce landed the cleaner punch to bloody Gunning in the first. As Joyce tired in the second he was warned a couple of times by the referee for dropping his head and that gave Gunning the confidence to move onto the front foot. However, in the third Joyce caught Gunning with a sweet left and forced a standing eight for the South Meath fighter. That shot proved to be the decider as the Ashbourne fighter prevailed. Sean Black (Tredagh) beat Glen Coleman (St Cianan's) on a majority decision to take the Boy 1 36kg title while Patrick Gallagher (Tredagh) beat Andrew Stokes (O'Hanlon Park) by unanimous decision in the Boy 1 66kg final. After a great start by 'Klitchko' Gallagher, Stokes settled and landed a couple of decent shots, but Gallagher held on with his body shots giving him the edge and the title. Ben Markey (Collon Philipstown) found Eoin Joyce (Ashbourne) too strong in the Boy 2 44kg final and the referee had to stop the contest in the third round. South paw Markey started well and was on front foot, but took a standing eight count before the end of the first to undo all his good early work. Joyce continued the second in the same vein and landed the better shots, but Markey survived to force the contest to the third. However, Joyce pounded Markey in the third and the referee stepped in to stop the contest. In the only girls match-up on the card Bunnoe's Michaela Gaffney proved too strong for the brave Clodagh Greene (South Meath) in the Girl 4 60kg. Gaffney landed several heavy blows early on and Greene's corner readied the towel to concede. However, the South Meath girl settled and came back into the contest towards the end of the first. Greene lost her balance and hit the canvas in the second and was clearly frustrated with herself. Gaffney again landed several blows, but Greene's bravery kept her in the fight for the third and final round. The third round was a real slugfest with Gaffney again the main aggressor as she claimed the crown. Conor Heavey (St Cianan's) defeated Patrick Hamill (O'Hanlon Park) in an exciting Boy 3 39kg final while Navan's Kevin Clinch won the Boy 3 48kg crown with a majority decision over Tredagh's Jack Newman. Christopher O'Neill (Clann Naofa) lost to Eddie Mongan (Collon Philipstown) by a unanimous decision in the Boy 3 52kg final. There was some confusion at the end of the Boy 3 63kg final when substitute ring announcer Declan Sheridan mis-read the scorecards and called the wrong result. However, when everything was cleared up Mason Moran was declared the winner with a narrow victory over Navan's Danny Morris in a thrilling final. In the Boy 1 semi-finals St Seachnaill's Davy Joyce (29kg), Navan's Luke Green (33kg) and South Meath's Lee Hennessy all advanced to their respective finals while Ephan Donnelly (Holy Family) set up a 42kg final against his club mate Derek Maguire. There was joy for St Cianan's in the Boy 2 semi-finals when Conor Walsh scored a unanimous decision to set up a potentially explosive final with Navan's Blake Lacey. St Seachnaill's Brian Stokes also advanced to the Boy 2 finals in the 48kg category. Christian O'Grady (Clann Naofa) and Oran Donnelly (Navan) won their respective Boy 3 36kg semi-finals to secure their final spots, while South Meath's Darragh Murray and St Seachnaill's Terence McDonagh will meet in the 57kg final after their impressive semi-final wins. Calum McConville from the Dundalk Dealgan club was an impressive Boy 4 48kg semi-final winner while first timer in the ring Jake Kelly (South Meath) advanced the 50kg semi-final. In the heavier and older youth division Jamie Dias (Holy Family) set up a Youth 1 60kg final showdown against his club mate Edward Lawrence. In the Youth 1 70kg semi-final Stephen McCooey (Bunnoe) stopped Navan's Laurence Ward in the first round. The Youth 2 70kg semi-final Martin O'Leary (South Meath) held on to advance to the final where he will meet Stephen Stokes from Holy Family who received a walkover.