Erne Boxing Club was again celebrating the success of two of their fighters, Rhys Owens and Anthony Malanaphy, at the Ulster Elite Championships in Belfast on Saturday.
National Elite champion Rhys Owens cemented his position as the number one lightweight boxer in the country with two impressive victories, beating former Commonwealth Games gold medallist and European Elite silver medallist Dylan Eagleson in the final to claim gold.
Anthony Malanaphy gave two gritty performances but, after a solid win in the semi-final, he was pipped in the final on a 4-1 split decision for the third consecutive year.
The Ulster Elites campaign for the Erne outfit started on Thursday night at the semi-final stage. First in action was Owens against Eric Banas (Cookstown Boxing Club) in the 60kg Lightweight category.
Banas, a recent National Intermediate finalist, was very game and tried his best but Owens’s greater skillset and arsenal saw him nullify his opponent and take full command of the contest from mid-round one onwards.
Owens landed with a variety of good shots throughout and forced a standing count in round three on route to a clear unanimous points victory.
Later that evening, Malanaphy was pitted against Darragh Smyth (Clonard Boxing Club) in the 67kg Welterweight category.
The Kinawley man had too much strength for the Belfast youngster and landed with combinations at will throughout all three rounds, winning on a unanimous points decision.
Owens Final
The finals which had been postponed from Friday night until Saturday morning due to the adverse weather saw Owens compete first against Eagleson, who not so long ago was deemed the ‘wonderkid’ of Irish boxing following his great international success but he had been sidelined more recently through hand injuries.
Eagleson had looked sharp in his semi-final victory and started quickly, firing backhand leads and right hooks from his southpaw stance.
However, Owens remained composed, defended adeptly and bided his time before picking the right moment to land clean shots.
The opener was close but Owens had the ring control and landed a fraction more punches to take the session.
Knowing that he needed to win round two, Eagleson again started fast and tried to let go with combination shots but Owens responded in kind.
Round two had the crowd on their feet. The round was in the balance until Owens landed a series of quality punches to finish on top. Eagleson was deducted a point for continuous holding as he struggled to cope with the tempo of the contest set by Owens.
In the third and final session, another close saw an accidental clash of heads and Owens received a point deduction but it made no difference as he still edged the round and collected a unanimous points decision victory.
His fine performance in the championships did not go unnoticed as he was later awarded the ‘Boxer of the Championships’ accolade.
Malanaphy Final
Anthony Malanaphy, competing in his third consecutive Ulster Elite final, this time up at Welterweight, was pitted against Giani Richmond (Cairnlodge Boxing Club).
Malanaphy started well and was able to keep the strong and aggressive Richmond at arms length in round one and pepper him with jabs and right crosses to win the opener.
In round two, Richmond upped the pace and forced Malanaphy to stand and trade. This suited the heavy-handed Belfast boxer and he caught Malanaphy with some solid shots. Malanaphy took the shots well but just didn’t land enough of his own punches to stem the tide and he lost the second.
In the third and decisive round, Richmond started more purposefully dictating the early action. Malanaphy gritted it out early on and then got back to boxing at range as the round progressed but it wasn’t enough and he dropped a 4-1 split decision and had to settle for a very hard earned silver medal.
Erne Boxing Club coach Greg Copeland said afterwards;
“Proud, so very proud is all I can say about the lads. Rhys risked his reputation in competing in the Ulster championship but he wanted to prove that he is the best lightweight in the country and he did just that.
“We are so upset for Anthony as things just went against him. His opponent benefited from not having to compete in the semi-finals after his respective opponent failed to make weight and the extra days rest was an advantage. Also, Anthony came down with a chest infection the day before but refused to withdraw from the contest. He deserves so much credit for competing when not at his best.
“Coaching-wise we were undermanned as Des Kennedy couldn’t be there as his work as a fireman took him away to deal with the storm emergencies and Head Coach Sean Crowley is on a temporary sabbatical due to his work commitments with the National High-Performance Unit.
“However, despite the challenges, the club is delighted to be celebrating another Ulster Elite title success.
“Rhys Owens has now won Ulster Elite titles back-to-back so hopefully this makes him the front runner for Commonwealth Games selection next year.
“Having given up his full time employment to pursue his dreams and train full time with the National Squad in Dublin without any funding he deserves nothing less.”
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