Gr-eight time for Marble City as club reigns in Leinster

The Marble City Boxing Club is in high spirits after welcoming eight new Leinster champions home.

Competing at the Leinster Youth championships in Portlaoise the club had eight boxers - Tommy Fitzpatrick, Cian Stapleton, Josh Dowling, Tommy Carthy, Finn Cantwell, Scott Delaney, Jack Johnson and Philip Carthy - in action.

Finn Cantwell was extremely unlucky to lose his semi-finals on a split decision after beating last year’s national champion in the quarter-finals. Cantwell’s opponent went on to claim gold in the competition.

Tommy Fitzpatrick put in a solid performance, but was edged out on a split decision in his final. Cian Stapleton, last year’s national champion and Team Ireland representative at the European Championships, was ruthless. He stopped his opponent in the semi-finals and claimed a convincing 5-0 victory in the finals. Josh Dowling put in another top class display, registering an early count on his opponent in his final to earn a 5-0 victory. Tommy Carthy was unfortunate to meet a good opponent in his final and just came up short on the day, losing out and claiming silver.

For Scott Delaney it proved to be a punch-perfect championship. He gave a series of top class displays to earn his title with three 5-0 victories en route to the championship. Philip Carthy, last year’s national champion, claimed another Leinster title to progress to this year’s All-Irelands.

Jack Johnson earned another Leinster title after a very impressive performance in his final. He landed some terrific combinations throughout the contest, earning a 5-0 win and a place in the National championships.

Five of the club’s boxers will contest national championships in Portlaoise where they will aim to join the Irish High Performance squad with victories.

A number of the Marble City boxers were also in action in the Leinster Juvenile championships in Enniscorthy, all six experiencing competition for the very first time.

First into the ring, Ricky Carthy delivered three exceptional performances to reach the Leinster final, where he met a very strong opponent. There was very little to separate the fighters but Carthy came out on the wrong side of a split decision.

Nevertheless, a silver medal in his first season is a great achievement.

Adam Delaney delivered three fantastic performances to be crowned Leinster champion. He was relentless in his final and never allowed his opponent a chance to settle as he earned himself a 5-0 win and a place in the National Championships in April.

Miroslav Holtsov delivered a great performance on the opening weekend, coming through a tough battle to win 3-2. An accidental elbow in his semi-final caused some swelling to his eye which forced the contest to be stopped.

Kasper Gorski can consider himself extremely unlucky as he was edged out on the closest of margins losing on a split decision in his semi-final.

Breanna Kelly performed well beyond her years, earning a second round stoppage in her semi-final. She delivered a master class in her final to earn a 5-0 win and take the Leinster crown.

Sarah Johnson has been in great form of late, registering some fine wins. Crowned Leinster champion, she now progresses to the national championships, making it eight Marble City boxers who have qualified to represent the club in this year’s national championships - a remarkable achievement.