Derrylin Boxing Club's put up a promising display at the recent Ulster Nine County Open Schoolboy championships. The club entered four boxers with one progressing to the final, a second reaching the semi-final stage and two losing in the quarter finals to eventual champions.
Bernard McGovern got Derrylin Boxing Club's bid for a third Ulster title this season off to a good start with a solid 4-2 points win over Thomas Mullan (Dromore Boxing Club) in the Boy 2 (Under 13s 39kgs class quarter final). Boxing with sheer aggression and desire, McGovern fought his way to a 4-0 lead in the opening two sessions before tiredness allowed his dogged opponent to narrow the lead in the last.
Next up for Derrylin Boxing Club, also in the Boy 2 (Under 13s 39kgs class quarter final) was Colm McElhill against John Boyle (Letterkenny Boxing Club). McElhill despite suffering from a heavy cold boxed very competitively against a strong opponent and pushed last year's Ulster finalist all the way before dropping a 7-4 points decision. With Boyle going on to win the title outright, it's a question of what might have been had the Derrylin favourite's performance not been impeded.
Derrylin Boxing Club's Darire Ó Cathain boxed very well against Darragh King (St Georges Boxing Club) in the Boy 1 (Under 12s 39kgs class quarter final) but the 3-2 score line in favour of the Belfast boxer appeared very harsh. Level at 2-2 going into the last, Ó Cathain's counters looked to have secured victory but somehow the judges saw things differently.
However, pride was restored for Derrylin Boxing Club in the next contest when Anthony Malanaphy scored an impressive third round stoppage victory over Nathan Mc Nulty (Cityside Boxing Club) in the Boy 3 (Under 14s 39kgs class quarter final). The Belfast boxer simply had no answer for Malanaphy's tireless aggression and high work rate and after receiving two standing counts in round three the contest was halted.
Both McGovern and Malanaphy were back in action in semi final contests on the following Tuesday. McGovern was first in the ring and put in another solid performance against the more experienced Gerard French (Clonard Boxing Club).
After a tentative opening round, McGovern was 2-0 down but fought back well over the later rounds. The contest finished level at 2-2 on the computer scoring and 4-4 after a count back but unfortunately the judges voted 4-1 in favor of French to leave the brave McGovern deeply disappointed.
Once again, pride was restored for Derrylin Boxing Club, with another blistering performance by Anthony Malanaphy. Patrick Diver (Carndonagh Boxing Club) simply had no answer to Malanaphy's incessant pressure and after he received a second standing count in round two the one-sided contest was halted.
The win was Malanaphy's sixth in succession, but more significantly it booked him a place in the final and in doing so created a small piece of history by being the first Derrylin Boxing Club boxer to compete in a Ulster Nine Counties Open Championships final.
His opponent in the final was the experienced Sean Garvey (Sacred Heart Boxing Club, Newry). The counter-punching and quick feet of his Newry opponent gave Malanaphy problems in the opening round, as whenever he moved into range to set up an attack he would get clipped with counters. Malanaphy did his best to cut off the ring but was outsmarted in the opening round and fell behind 3-0 on the computer scoring.
In round two, Malanaphy continued to be the aggressor and upped the pace with notably success. One solid right hand shook his opponent and forced him to take a standing count but despite pressing the action and having a dominant round he was controversially adjudged to have lost the round 2-1 and went into the final round with a 5-1 deficit.
In the final round Malanaphy gave it his all and he chased his opponent from post to post and continually threw punches from start to finish. But yet again the scoring was very harsh on the Derrylin boxer and the contest was awarded 7-3 in favor of Garvey. Malanaphy the third pupil of St Aidan's School to compete in an Ulster final this year deservedly collected the silver medal.
Derrylin Boxing Club's coach Sean Crowley commented on his team's performance: "This was a very good campaign for us and marks another chapter in our development. Before the tournament started I was just hoping each boxer would collect a win, but to win a silver medal and come extremely close to having two finalists in our first attempt in the Open Class championships bodes really well for the future.
"Each lad will have gained invaluable experience and confidence from these championships and will serve them well and put them in good stead for when we target qualification for the National Championship next February/March. My heart goes out to young Anthony Malanaphy, who boxed his heart out in the final and the contest was a lot closer than the score line suggests. But more importantly, the silver medal is a measure of how much he and the club has progressed in the 15 months we've been running."
Derrylin Boxing Club would also like to congratulate both Ederney and Enniskillen Boxing Clubs on their success, both clubs produced two Nine County champions Curtis Timlin and Jordan Liggett (Ederney) and Stephen Stokes and John Stokes (Enniskillen) and that is further testament to how well boxing is progressing the Lakelands region.
Derrylin Boxing Club boxers Anthony Malanaphy and Cillian McGoldrick will both get their first taste of international competition this weekend as both boxers have been selected for an Ulster Select team that is taking on St Paul's Boxing Club from Liverpool, England. The event organised by Smithboro Boxing Club will take place at the Threemilehouse GAA club in Co Monaghan on Saturday night.
