Mixed results for West Cork fighters in county leagues

THE county leagues at the Cork Boxing Centre in Churchfield continued with six West Cork representatives in action.

Of the six, three were from the Bantry BC while the other three box out of the Ilen River BC in Skibbereen. It was an extremely positive afternoon for Bantry with both Jack Desmond and Soni Gaffney picking up wins while Con Desmond gave a great showing in an underage exhibition bout.

There were mixed results for the Skibb boxers, with one win and two defeats but all three fighters gave good accounts of themselves.

The aggressive Con Desmond opened Saturday’s card and showed plenty of potential in his underage 32kg bout. The youngster’s right hand was dangerous throughout and he certainly looks like one to watch.

Next up of the Bantry contingent was Jack Desmond in the junior 54kg category. His was a dominant performance against a much taller opponent from Tipperary town. His stylish head movement and stinging jab proved too much with the referee calling a halt in round two.

The last of the Bantry trio in action on Saturday was Soni Gaffney in a Boy 4 42kg contest. In a well-matched contest, the Bantry man used his superior footwork throughout to outclass a game opponent. His hand speed and body work were on show to full effect giving him a unanimous points win in the end.

The talented Michael Collins was up first for Ilen River as he chased his fourth win in as many weeks. In a nip and tuck type of contest, Collins came up just short against a physically stronger Douglas fighter. Collins continues to impress despite the result and has been one of the stars of the county leagues over the past few weeks.

Skibb’s Alan Minihane showed plenty of heart on debut in the senior 60kg division. Against a much more experienced Muskerry boxer, Minihane gave his all and managed to land a few heavy shots of his own but the result ultimately went against him.

Kilkenny native Jack McCarron, who boxes out of Skibbereen, closed the show and managed to jab his way to victory against Brian O’Leary of Togher in a senior 81kg bout. McCarron shipped a heavy right hand in the final round which looked damaging but he took it well and held on for the win.