Big time boxing returns to city

FOR the first time in 20 years an international boxing tournament takes place in Londonderry, this weekend.

Ireland will be facing Scotland at the Everglades Hotel, this Sunday, in a Youth International Tournament, with four Oakleaf Boxing Club fighters - Tom Stokes, Ryan Green, Brett McGinty and Francie Stokes - all having bouts.

Eugene O’Kane, one of the organisers of the tournament, which is the first of its kind to take place in the city, believes some of the cadets and youth boxers in years to come will be boxing for Ireland in an Olympics, maybe even in four years time in Rio.

“The young lads of 14 or 15 years-old, who will be boxing at the Everglades, if they keep this progression then fingers crossed they might be involved in four years time,” admitted O’Kane.

“I keep telling the young boys that they need to have targets, have a gold.

“Should it be to be winning the Derry & District Championships, then winning the Ulster’s, then the Irish championships and then maybe going onto and getting selected for the Commonwealth games and then getting into the squad for the Olympics.

“And if you are an elite boxer in Ireland you’ll get good money, but in my opinion that money needs to be a complete conveyor belt where all the young boxers, who are not getting funded at the minute are travelling up and down the country and all over the world, so they need some type of funding.

“If there isn’t anybody coming through at the bottom end then all of a sudden Ireland’s great run comes to an end, so because of that I feel we need to get things right all the way from the bottom to the top.”

O’Kane also believes that Ireland’s success at the recent London 2012 Olympics, where the likes of Paddy Barnes, John Joe Nevin, Michael Conlan and Katie Taylor all secured medals, can only but help the sport in the North West.

In fact O’Kane also remarked that it’s hoped that some of Ireland’s medal winners will be guests at this weekend’s event and he feels that more and more youngsters from the Waterside maybe taking up the sport of boxing.

“It’s heartening now since Ireland and Great Britain’s success at the Olympics that I’m getting telephone calls from all over the place.

“It’s heartening because although the club is based in the Brandywell Sports Centre I’m getting calls from Nelson Drive, Tullyally and Newbuildings that people want to come and join us, it’s a pity there is no boxing club in the Waterside.

“It’s a section of our community which for one thing or another they just couldn’t get over to the city side, but hopefully things have changed now and we will start getting more and more youngsters joining our club.

“In fact I have four young girls who have phoned me up looking to join the club, because of the success of Katie Taylor, so success breeds success.”

The Oakleaf trainer feels this Sunday’s cadets and youth bouts will be the first of many high profile competitions coming to the city.

“I would like to think this Sunday’s competition will be a big thing, as it’s not very often top class youth boxers at this elite level have had many bouts in the city, so hopefully the boxing fans come out and support it,” he added.

“The city has been starved of big time boxing over the years, but I know that the county board and some of the clubs have stuff planned for next year’s City of Culture and I would like to think if this weekend’s competition is well run then there could be more events in the future.”

The parade of Ireland and Scotland begins at 7.30pm with all the action getting underway around 8pm sharp and admission is £6/£4 and is payable at the door. The competition is sponsored by Foyle Taxis, Derry City Council, Derry Credit Union, Angel Print, Everglades Hotel and Paulos Pizzas.