Portlaoise boxers shine in Poland multi-nations tournament
Neddy Harty (Portlaoise Boxing Club) who was deemed 'Best Boxer' at the Subcarpathian Box Cup in Rzeszów, Poland with his coaches Mathew Griffin and James O' Reilly
PORTLAOISE Boxing Club certainly made its mark at the Subcarpathian Box Cup in Rzeszów, Poland on the opening weekend of February.
The multi-nations event, which involved some 200 boxers, representing the host country, as well as Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Lithuania and Ireland, saw Portlaoise scoop four gold and two silver medals, along with the accolade and also the honour, which went the way of their own Edward Harty.
A gold medallist at light welterweight in last year’s European Junior Championships in Sarajevo, Harty delivered again on the international stage in Poland as he saw off the challenge of Kazymyr Hlavatskiy in the 67kg semi-finals before surmounting another of the home boxers, Nazar Bas in his decider.
It was a superb performance by the All-Ireland champion and a highlight in the tournament, which also saw his Portlaoise clubmate, Jack Cahill go all the way in the 50kg division after he got the better of Alan Kubajka in the last four and Mateusz Wojewodka in the title fight.
In what was a straight final in the 44-46kg class, Reece Holohan emerged victorious from his clash with Ukraine’s Marian Bidzilya, while Luke Furlong, who was a guest fighter for Portlaoise at 71kg, served up a win over Poland’s Szymon Letocha in his final before Patrick McDonagh lost out to Szymon Gryszyn in their 51kg bout.
There were silver medal wins for Portlaoise’s Cody O’Reilly and Louis Griffin, the former being pipped by another home boxer, Thomasz Kotowicz at 60kg, while, after beating Seweryn Siorek in the penultimate rounds of the 63.5kg division, Griffin was edged out by European Junior bronze medallist, Darius Stegari from Romania.
For Portlaoise head coach, Pat Ryan, the experience garnered at international events, the likes of the Subcarpathian Box Cup, has proven a key element in the development of the club’s boxers, something that was clearly event in the success of their cohort in Rzeszów.
“We were very pleased with the performance of all the boxers in Poland,” Ryan told the .
“They’re all improving so well and that’s largely because of the experience they got last year in travelling to about eight different countries.
“It’s the experience that these boxers are getting which is the key to their development. It’s immeasurable really.
“They’re going up against boxers from different countries with different styles and these tournaments are very well run.
“You can have boxers from up to seven or eight nations participating in these events, and the thing for our club is, that we’re very-much sought after when it comes to invitations to these tournaments.
“We’ve already been invited back to Poland for a training camp in August where we can have up to between 10 and 12 boxers taking part,” he added.
As well as travelling to various overseas camps and multi-nations, Portlaoise Boxing Club has utilised their own impressive facilities to play host to such events.
Indeed, only last month, they welcomed a group of 27 Latvians (23 boxers and four coaches) to their home for a week’s training camp – an event that attracted huge interest in the Irish boxing community and saw competitors from Galway, Wexford, Waterford, Cork, Laois, Kilkenny, Carlow and Dublin taking part.
“That was a fantastic camp and it was great to see so many boxers from other parts of the country taking part,” smiled Ryan. “We have four international rings and the four of them were going full-time. It’s great that we have that facility.” It is hoped that the exposure to international competition that these events provide will seriously benefit the Portlaoise boxers as they gear up for another busy year of domestic competition that starts with the Leinster Championships later this month.
Portlaoise are expected to field upwards of 20 members in this season’s provincials, among them Subcarpathian Box Cup star, Edward Harty, who will be entering as a second-year youth.
Ryan is very hopeful Harty will be among five boxers from the club lining out in this summer’s National Under 18 Championships and insists he will be well equipped to take on this challenge.
“If we get Neddy away more often, he could have up to 10 fights before he competes in the Under 18s,” said Ryan, who hopes to see the defending All-Ireland champion back on the European Championship stage in the autumn.
