Boxing night a big success

There was blood, sweat and tears at the Knightsbrook Hotel on Sunday night as the 'Battle of the Royals' boxing exhibition was played out. For one night the spacious, ornate Trim hotel became Caesar's Palace as Meath footballers took on a radically different role, exchanging their football boots for boxing gloves. The organisers had hoped for a crowd of around 1,500. They certainly got that and more with the largely youthful spectators becoming more vociferous as the night wore on. This was Meath footballers as their supporters had never seen them before - or likely to see them again. Fifteen bouts, most of them bone-crushing affairs in which the fighters, sorry the players, pounded and pummelled each other with all the intensity they could muster. The entertainment also included an encounter between two well-known jockeys Davy Condon and Paul Carberry, who deputised for Robbie Power. The tears were not of the emotional kind but rather the type that is induced from bruising blows to an exposed nose or stomach. There were no knock-outs although some of the players, at times, looked a little stunned and bewildered after shipping heavy punches. With their pride at stake they invariably rallied and hit back with a few 'haymakers' much to the delight of the spectators. This was a night for celebrity spotters and autograph hunters with a number of big names from the sporting world in attendance which included current European champion Andy Murray and former world champ Bernard Dunne. The event was well organised, hardly a surprise considering that staging it all was the highly-experienced boxing promoter Brian Peters and the former professional heavyweight Cathal O'Grady from whitecollarboxing.ie. This was a virtual reality reproduction of a big fight night in Las Vegas, with wired up security people peppered around the hall, a boxing ring that glittered and glowed with lights. There was the pounding music and glamorous young ladies who held up placards announcing each round. Some of the girls wore green tee-shirts with the names of the seven Meath captains who lifted the Sam Maguire printed on their backs. One punter felt that it was worth the admission money alone, €30, to see all the glitz and glamour. He certainly wasn't looking for his money back. Not everyone was happy. Some were disgruntled that they did not get a seat as they understood they would. The organisers had taken the decision to place about six or seven rows of seats around the ring, with the rest of the spectators standing. This, they felt, would allow for easier movement. For those more mature people who were left standing it must have been a long night. Another spectator was concerned about the fact that each of the boxers came into the ring in their club colours and that players from neighbouring clubs were trading blows with each other. He wondered what would happen the next time they met in a club championship game. Would one be seeking revenge on the other? Would there be blood on the grass? Despite these fears he was attracted by the “novelty†of the event. But was all this going to help Meath win an All-Ireland in 2011? One north Meath footballer who was among the crowd was sceptical. “The team that won All-Ireland titles in 1987 and '88 didn't do any boxing exhibitions and look at what they achieved,†he said in the foyer at the interval before rushing back to take his seat. There was no shortage of humour, much of it injected into the evening's events by Dublin boxing referee Ciaran O'Neill who at one stage stopped the 'celebrity bout' between Carberry and Condon to enquire if they had “any tips for Cheltenham.†To add some authenticity to the evening each of the boxers adopted nicknames commonplace in Madison Square Garden. There was Chris 'The Cyclone' O'Connor, Brian 'Boom, Boom' Farrell, David 'The Mawler' Morgan, Craig 'Bad Ass' Berrigan, Brendan 'The Widow Maker' Murphy, Joe 'Joe the Show' Sheridan and Kevin 'Rothreiller' Reilly. The MC for the night was UTV's Adrian Logan who played his part in whipping up the crowd and keeping them entertained between bouts. As part of the build up there was exclusive scenes of the row between Meath and Mayo during the 1996 All-Ireland final when fists flew with little regard to the Marquess of Queensberry rules. The referee that day was Pat McEnaney, brother of the new Meath manager, Seamus. The crowd roared as the action on the screen unfolded. As part of the night's entertainment Colm O'Rourke was interviewed by Logan between bouts. O'Rourke was asked to divulge who used the most deodorant in the dressing rooms when he was a player? “Bernard Flynn,†replied the former All Star without hesitation and to general mirth. “Bernard always thought he was a fancy boy, he had three different shampoos and two suits, one for before the game and one for afterwards.†What about Mick Lyons? “Mick got a suit when he was 12 and he still had it when he was 25.†Cheers rang out when O'Rourke added: “I think it's going to be a big year for Meath.†Logan said that as far as he was concerned O'Rourke was “the best footballer he ever heard.†Graham Geraghty was also interrogated. He hoped Meath would do well in 2011 and wished the new management team the best of luck. “Hopefully they won't be too afraid to make substitutions,†he added. Then it was quickly back to the boxing when more blood was spilt and an few more tears shed. And the crowd loved it - portents for the future of Meath football!!!