2008 - A Year In Irish Boxing

This year has been an eventful one for Irish boxing, with our fantastic amateur boxing success, one of our best prospects tasting defeat for the first time, comebacks and title success', this has been one of the most exciting years we have seen in a long while. Take a look back in this month by month summary of Irish boxing.

January

Amateur Boxing :

Jan 11th - National Amateur Boxing Championships - Winners :
Darren Sutherland 75kg
Kenny Egan 81kg
Con Sheehan (Boxer of the Tournament) 91kg
John Joe Joyce 64kg
David Oliver Joyce 57kg
Roy Sheahan 69kg
Paddy Barnes 48kg
Shane Cox 51kg
John Joe Nevin 54kg
Ross Hickey 60kg
Cathal McMonagle 91kg

Professional Boxing

Events:
January 26th - Neptune Sports Arena, Cork
Billy Walsh wins the vacant Irish welterweight title defeating James Gorman.
Pro debuts :
Cork based Cuban Mike Perez makes pro debut with a 1st round KO against Jevgenijs Stamburskis.
Gary O Sullivan makes pro debut against Peter Dunn winning by TKO in the 6th round.
In the News
Andy Lee's trainer Manny Steward says this about the Limerick prospect,“Andy Lee is the best prospect in the world…Right now he’s the best middleweight in the world. He can beat Kelly Pavlik right now." Belfast Telegraph


February

Amateur Boxing

Feb 29th - Olympic Qualifiers, Pescara, Italy
Bantamweight Jon Joe Nevin qualifies for the Beijing Olympics by beating Ukranian Maksym Tretyak (32-16), and in doing so joins Paddy Barnes (flyweight) who qualified in Chicago, 2007.

Professional Boxing

Events:
Feb 2nd - University Arena, Limerick
Andy Lee, Paul McCloskey and Mike Perez keep their winning records intact with wins over Alejandro Falliga, Manuel Garnica and Sandor Balogh, respectively.
Feb 23th - Madison Square Garden, New York
John Duddy wins a controversial decision against Walid Smichet. Due to Duddy's poor performance and bad cuts over both eyes, a possible fight with Kelly Pavlik was postponed.
Feb 26th - Pepsi Coliseum, Indianapolis, Indiana
Henry Coyle gets stoppage number 7 against Rashaan Abdul Blackburn
In the News:
Ireland's James Moore was honoured as a "Future Champion", by the Veterans Boxers association in Long Island, New York.


March

Amateur Boxing

Kenny Egan, John Joe Joyce and Darren Sutherland win their bouts at the National Stadium and take another step towards Olympic qualification.

Professional Boxing

Events:
March 15th - Orpheum Theater, Boston, Massachusetts
Gary O Sullivan, Patrick Hyland and Jonathan O Brien each win their bouts by TKO, while Michael Sweeney scores a draw.
March 15th - Madison Square Garden, New York
Oisin Fagan, James Moore and Simon O Donnell put on fantastic performances, with wins over Brian Carden, Juan Carlos Candelo and Chris Overby.
March 21st - Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, Connecticut
Andy Lee loses his undefeated record to Texan, Brian Vera by TKO in the 7th round.
March 22nd - National Stadium, Dublin
Matthew Macklin headlines his first Irish card beating veteran Yori Boy Campus with a points decision win, unbeaten Andrew Murray scores a KO defeat against Leonard Lothian.
March 29th - Letterkenny Leisure Complex, Letterkenny
Paul McCloskey easily outpoints Cesar Bazan. Andrew Murray stretches winning record to 11-0-0 with 3rd round TKO against Juris Ivanovs. Damien Taggart loses in 1st round to Janis Chernouskis.
Pro debuts :
Ian Tims beats Klaids Kristapsons with a points decision win.
In the News :
Kiko Martinez loses EBU title in his first title defense to Rendall Munroe making a Bernard Dunne V Kiko Martinez rematch unlikely.


April

Amateur Boxing

John Joe Joyce, Kenny Egan and Darren Sutherland all qualify for the Beijing Olympics at the Olympic qualifiers in Athens, Greece.

Professional Boxing

Events :
April 4th - York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Martin Rogan wins the SkySports Prizefighter tournament winning £25,000
April 12th - Breaffy House Resort, Castlebar, Co. Mayo
Bernard Dunne makes a successful comeback after losing his EBU title in August 2007, beating former world champion, Felix Machado.
April 19th - National Stadium, Dublin
Eddie, Patrick and Paul Hyland are in action against Kevin O Hara, Paul Griffin and Ayittey Mettle.
Pro Debuts :
Keith Cresham makes his pro debut with a win over Andrejs Tolstihs
Jamie Power makes his successful pro debut against Leonid Dmitrichenko
In the News :
An Exhibition of Irish boxing legends called, Fighting Irishman, opens in Boston, Massachusetts, which celebrates Celtic prizefighters from 1820 - Present. See article here.


May

Amateur Boxing

Five boxers are selected for Ahmet Comert Cup in Istanbul, including, Katie Taylor, Ryan Lindberg, Darren O Neil, Anthony Cacace and Carl Frampton.

Professional Boxing

Events :
May 9th - Cicero Stadium, Illinois
Henry Coyle TKO's Ben Aragon in round 3
May 23th - Quiet Canyon, Montebello, California
Dean Byrne defeats Michaelangelo Lynks with a 1st round TKO
May 31st - Shorts Sport & Social Club, Belfast
Patrick Hyland beats Robin Deaken by TKO in the 5th round
Also in action is Scott Belshaw and Willie Thompson
In the News :
Wayne McCullough plans comeback after a 3 year absence from the ring, against Juan Ruiz for the vacant NABF featherweight title.


June

Amateur Boxing

Darren Sutherland, Kenny Egan, John Joe Joyce, David Oliver Joyce, all won gold medals, while Con Sheehan won silver at the European Union Senior Championships in Cetniewo, Poland.

Professional Boxing

Events :
June 4th - Aviator Sports Arena, Brooklyn, New York
James Moore loses his undefeated record to Gabriel Rosado by unanimous decision.
June 20th - Royal Walter Cruise Terminal, Georgetown, Cayman Islands
Wayne McCullough retires in the 6th round in his NABF featherweight title bout against Juan Ruiz
June 21st - National Indoor Arena, Birmingham
Michael Gomez loses to Amir Khan by TKO in the 5th round
June 28th - The Castle, Boston, Massachusetts
John Duddy wins a unanimous decision in his bout with Charles Howe
In the News :
Willie Gibbs is named as the next opponent for Andy Lee for July date.


July

Amateur Boxing

Dylan Carr wins a bronze medal at the European Schoolboy Championships in Nova Sad, Serbia.
The Irish Olympic Squad leave for Beijing.

Professional Boxing

Events :
July 7th - National Basketball Arena, Dublin
Jamie Moore beats Ciaran Healy by TKO in the 3rd round
Paul Hyland gets points win over Marc Callaghan
Patrick Hyland defeats Geofffrey Munika with points decision win
July 12th - National Stadium, Dublin
Bernard Dunne wins impressive points decision over Damien Marciano
Andrew Murray beats Thomas McDonagh by points decision over 10 rounds
Jim Rock makes history by winning 4 Irish titles at different weights by beating Jonjo Finnegan by KO in the 7th round
July 19th - University Arena, Limerick
Andy Lee beats Willie Gibbs by TKO in the 10th round with just seconds to go in the fight
Paul McCloskey outpoints Nigel Wright over 10 rounds
Pro Debuts :
Logan McGuiness makes his pro debut with a points decision win over Juris Ivanovs
In the News :
John Duddy plans on dropping down to light middleweight in a bid to get a title shot with IBF light middleweight champion Verno Phillips


August

Amateur Boxing

Kenny Egan wins a silver medal and Paddy Barnes and Darren Sutherland both win bronze at the Beijing Olympics
Katie Taylor wins gold at the Womens EU Championships in Liverpool, England

Professional Boxing

Events :
August 2nd - US Steel Yard, Gary, Indiana
Henry Coyle KO's Alan Moore
August 2nd - Emerald Queen Casino, Tacoma, Washington
Dean Byrne defeats Daniel Gonzalez by unanimous decision
August 6th - BB Kings Blues Club, New York
James Moore beats Christian Llyod Joseph by unanimous decision
August 15th - The Venue at River Cree, Enoch, Alberta, Canada
Logan MccGuinness beats Tim Watts by TKO in the 1st round
In the News : The boxing scoring system and judges at the Beijing Olympics are criticized by many, with Britain's Joe Murray, Ukranian Oleksander Klyuchko and Ireland's Kenny Egan, among others, expressing disapointment with the scoring, after all lost out to Chinese opponents. China won it's first Olympic boxing gold medals with Zhang Xiaoping's controversial win over Kenny Egan and Zou Shiming also claiming gold. Terry Smith, the technical delegate from the International Boxing Association (AIBA) said regarding this issue,
"We've got millions of people watching this sport, (and) we've got thousands in the arena, I would love to make everyone happy. That's an impossibility."


September

Amateur Boxing

Willie McCloughlan and Jimmy Sweeney win bronze medals at the Wiener Neustadt Tournament, Austria.


Professional Boxing

Events
Sept 6th - City West, Dublin
Paul Hyland beats Cristian Nicolae with a points decision win, Patrick Hyland TKO's John Gicharu and Eddie Hyland also gets a points decision win over Geoffrey Munika.
Sept 6th - M.E.N Arena, Manchester
Matthew Macklin wins on points to Francis Cheka.
Sept 13th - Neptune Sports Arena, Cork
Mike Perez KO's Claudemir Dias in 1 round, Gary O Sullivan wins when his opponent retires in round 1.
Sept 13th - York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Scott Belshaw wins points decision over Pavol Polakovic
Sept 19th - Warner Center Marriott, Woodlands Hill, California
Dean Bryne KO's Geoffrey Spruiell
Sept 27th - Leisure Centre, Bracknell, Berkshire
Colin Kenna loses by KO in the 4th round to Gurcharan Singh
Sept 28th - Municiple Hall, Colne, Lancashire
Michael Gomez wins by TKO against Chris Brophy
Pro Debuts :
Robbie Long makes his professional debut with a points decision win over Florin Bogdan.
Cork based Cubans Alexei Acosta and Luis Garcia make their pro debuts with KO wins.
In the News :
A war of words begins between Bernard Dunne's promoter Brian Peters and Rendall Munroe's manager Frank Maloney. Maloney accuses Bernard Dunne of running scared from EBU champion Munroe despite offers made to Maloney for Dunne to fight Munroe in Ireland for a considerably larger amount of money.


October

Amateur Boxing

David Oliver Joyce and Thomas McCarthy win bronze medals at the World Youth Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico, while Jamie Kavanagh wins silver, Ray Moylett wins the gold medal which means that Ireland has two lightweight world champions in Katie Taylor and Ray Moylett.

Professional Boxing

Events :
October 4th - Norwich Showground, Norwich, Norfolk
Logan McGuinness wins a points decision against Sid Razak
October 4th - National Guard Armory, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Patrick Hyland and Simon O Donnell both win their bouts while Paul Hyland loses to Lucian Gonzalez in a 4 round bout.
October 10th - Dalziel Park Hotel & Conference Centre, Motherwell, Scotland
Michael Gomez beats Baz Carey with points decision.
October 17th - The Millennium Center, Winston-Salem, North Carolina
Simon O Donnell wins by KO in the 2nd round against Adrian Redmond.
October 26th - Gleneagle Hotel, Killarney
Mike Perez beats Luis Oscar Ricail by TKO in the 1st round, Gary O Sullivan TKO's Idiozan Matos in round 3.
October 31st - Aston Villa Leisure Centre, Birmingham
Matthew Macklin beats Geard Ajetovic with a points decision win.
Pro Debuts :
Willie Casey makes his pro debut with a win over Carlos De Jesus.
John Waldron loses in his pro debut to Ciaran Healy by points decision.
Anthony Fitzgerald makes his pro debut with a win against Kirill Pshonko.
In the News :
Oisin Fagan is named as Amir Khan's comeback opponent.
Darren Sutherland signs a professional contract with Frank Maloney.


November

Amateur Boxing :

Katie Taylor becomes a two time world lightweight champion when she wins gold at the Womens World Championship in Ningbo City, China. Taylor is also named as Boxer of the Tournament.


Professional Boxing :

Events :
Nov 1st - Thistle Hotel, Glasgow, Scotland
Ciaran Duffy beats Duncan Cottier by points decision.
Nov 15th - Breaffy House, Castlebar, Mayo
Bernard Dunne defeats Cristian Faccio, Henry Coyle makes his Irish debut with a points decision win over Sergjs Savrinovics and Steven Haughian avenges his defeat to Giammario Grassellini with a points decision win.
Nov 21st - York Hall, Bethnal Green, London
Colin Kenna loses to Sam Sexton by TKO in the 6th round
In the News :
John Duddy's bout with Sam Hill is cancelled due to management issues, rumours abound about problems between Duddy and Irish Ropes.


December

Amateur Boxing

Ireland beat England 8-6 in an under 21s contest at the National Stadium.
Katie Taylor recieves the AIBA Boxer of the Year award in Moscow.
Kenny Egan decides to stay in the amateur ranks, the decision was announced the day after his fellow Olympian Darren Sutherland makes his professional debut.


Professional Boxing

Events :
December4th - Roseland Ballroom, New York
Eddie Hyland wins a points decision over Gustavo Dailey.
December 5th - Goresbrook Leisure Centre, Dagenham, Essex
Paul McCloskey wins the vacant British light welterweight title by beating Colin Lynes with Lynes retiring in round 9.
December 6th - Excel Arena, Dockland, London
Oisin Fagan loses to Amir Khan by TKO in round 2, Martin Rogan wins a points decision over Olympic gold medalist, Audley Harrison.
December 12th - Kingsway Leisure Centre, Widnes, Cheshire
Ciaran Healy loses on points to Paul Smith.
December DD13th - International Centre, Brentwood, Essex
Brian Magee wins the vacant British super middleweight title against Stevie McGuire by TKO in the 8th round.
Jason McKay retires in the 6th round in his commonwealth middleweight title clash with Darren Barker.
December 13th - Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
James Moore loses out to Yuri Foreman in his NABF light middleweight title bid by unanimous decision.
December 18th - Dublin City University, Dublin
Darren Sutherland beats Georgi Iliev by TKO in the 1st round, Paul Hyland beats Eugene Heagney with a points decision win.
December 20th - Hollywood Park Casino, Inglewood, California
Dean Byrne continues his winning streak with a round 4 TKO over Francisco Rios Gil
Pro Debuts :
Darren Sutherland
In the News :
Oisin Fagan suffered a broken leg during his fight with Amir Khan which will put him out of contention for a year.

Wayne McCullogh looks for another world title fight, McCullough, 38, said in an interview with BBC Sport, "The WBC said that the bantamweight champion from Japan (Hozumi Hasegawa), if he agrees to fight me, that they would let me, I know the opportunity is there because I was a world champion." When asked about his June bout against Ruiz, in which his corner retired him in the 6th round, he said, "I was injured going into the fight, I keep myself in shape. I train every day. I'm 38-year-old but Bernard Hopkins is 43-year-old. If you keep yourself in shape, you can fight on a regular basis. I know I can become a world champion again. I've lost in my last seven world championship fights but I thought I was robbed a few times." BBC Sport

Frank Maloney makes reference to a possible EBU title fight between Bernard Dunne and Rendall Munroe in 2009. Setanta Sports