Preparations continue for All Saints’ USA trip

A party from the Cushendall Road club heads off next month for contests in New York and Boston.

It will be the first time that an All Saints party has embarked on a trip to the States since 1999.

Representing All Saints on that occasion was Clinton Morrison, from Cullybackey, who narrowly lost on points to Peter Manfredo Jnr, who later turned professional and had success in the WBO Super Middleweight division, where he became a contender.

Five of the other American fighters on that bill went on to turn professional – an indication of how seriously amateur boxing is taken in the States, and a good indicator as to the quality of opponents the All Saints boxers will come up against.

Over the next few weeks, Times Sport will profile the All Saints fighters, starting with Aiden Kelly, from Randalstown.

The 15-year-old has been with the club for two years and weighs in at 42kg.

An enthusiastic competitor, he has had four wins from eight contests.

Another boxer in the same weight category is 15-year-old Reece McDonnell.

He has been with the club for almost three years and has six wins from 10 outings, including a confidence-boosting win against a Scottish Select side recently.

A third 15-year-old, Dean Hughes, from Randalstown, has a record of 10 wins from 14 contests.

He is a very able boxer who aspires to compete in the Commonwealth Games.

See next week’s paper for more profiles.