Irish boxers Seán Kelly, Cassie Henderson and Kristian Jubani won their finals to claim gold medals at the European Under-17 Boxing Championships in Keinbaum, Germany on Wednesday.
Kalib Walshe also took home silver, while six more Irish boxers earned bronze medals for reaching the semi-finals. The medal haul of 10 left Ireland third overall for the tournament.
Wexford boxer Kelly defeated Turkey’s Yigit Keskin by a 4-0 decision in the 52kg final. St Abbans/Kilmyshall BC southpaw started strongly in a competitive first round, with four of the five judges scoring it for the Irish fighter.
The second round saw Keskin look more dangerous, landing power shots with his right hand, but Kelly acquitted himself well under fire and did enough to win it on three scorecards.
Kelly produced his best work in the final round, dancing around his opponent, switching stances and keeping his hands low under pressure, while also landing his cleanest punches of the fight.
Despite one judge scoring the bout as a draw, Kelly won 4-0 to take the gold.
Team co-captain Henderson was a comprehensive 5-0 winner against Ukraine’s Vladyslava Nalyvaiko in the 70kg weight division.
The Co Antrim native found a home for her left hook throughout the first round, winning it on all the scorecards, and then repeated that feat in the second.
Henderson showed great mobility and skill on the back foot once she took that lead, and four judges awarded her the final round too.
That made Henderson the winner of every round on all but one judge’s scorecard, capping a remarkable victory over the tournament’s powerhouse Ukraine.
Jubani from Crumlin BC won Ireland’s third gold after beating Denis-Aurel Alexandrescu of Romania at 50kg.
Jubani’s flair and speed was on show from the start, fighting in a hands-down style and countering with rear lefts.
After being awarded the first round by four judges, the Dublin southpaw went one better in the second, sweeping the scorecards.
Alexandrescu tried to force the action in the final round, but that allowed the Irish boxer to show off his head movement and land some sharp counters.
Jubani was crowned European champion with a 5-0 decision after a dominant victory that also earned him the award as the tournament’s best male boxer.
Walshe from Wexford CBS won silver, losing out on a 4-1 split decision against Italy’s Daniele Fabi.
The early rounds saw plenty of good work from both fighters, who were happy to stand and trade, but it was Fabi who claimed both rounds on three of the judges’ scorecards.
The final round was definitive, with all five judges preferring the Italian switch-hitter’s back foot style, leaving Walshe with the silver medal after a superb final performance.
Six other Irish boxers were presented with their bronze medals after losing out in their semi-finals on Monday.
Two fighters from Banbridge BC in Antrim, Lucie Prentice (50kg) and Paige Nickels (54kg) claimed bronzes, along with Mullingar duo Pat Stokes (46kg) and Jason Donoghue (60kg).
Finally, Tipperary’s Isabelle Hawkins (75kg) and Cork’s William Heaphy (80+ kg) also climbed the podium to receive, taking Ireland’s tournament total to 10; good enough for joint-third with England, but behind Turkey and Ukraine.
