Fox impresses to take crown

black and blue: Bantamweights Martin Frazer of Lisburn (red) against Paul Quinn of All Blacks (blue) during the Antrim Intermediate Championships final last night Picture: Gerard Black

MEXICO-bound internationals Tommy McCarthy and Tyrone McKenna were ringside last night to take in some thrilling Antrim title fight action before leaving today to represent Ireland at the inaugural World Youth Championships.
Their club-mate, Kevin Fox, caught the eye, nose and cheekbones in his senior final debut as the Oliver Plunkett light-welterweight ran out an impressive 24-11 winner over bloodied, battling Dockers rival, John McNulty.
In one of several cracking contests, Fox’s high volume punch-rate and relentless pressure offered too much for game McNulty.
His work over the first three rounds, building a lead of 17-7, staying in McNulty’s face with busy combinations, left his opponent with too much ground to make up. McNulty, rangy behind a left jab, tried to turn up the heat in the final session but he could have no complaints with the result.

Paul Quinn of All Blacks snatched the bantamweight title in the opening bout, a cat and mouse four rounds with Lisburn’s Martin Frazer in the closing 15 seconds, winning 9-8.
Frazer’s sporadic counter-punching work with his left edged the first three rounds, holding marginal 4-3 and 5-4 leads after two, a 7-5 advantage going into the last session.
Both over used wait-and-see tactics and, while Frazer boxed the better up until the final round, the two point lead entering the fourth was loaded with risk.
Quinn showed much more aggression and ambition in the last, a couple of good right hooks helping to edge a fortunate one point win.

At light-middleweight a capacity crowd were enthralled and very vocal throughout the light-middleweight battle between Ben McCourt of Lisburn and Cairn Lodge’s Matthew Orr.
They produced an absorbing four rounds, very even throughout. McCourt shaded a flick of a coin contest 5-4.
In the annual Coca-Cola Trophy, an Antrim senior box-off contested since the solid silver prize was presented to the Board in the late 1950s, Gleann’s Donal Burns and Eamonn Finnegan of St Agnes’ delivered a fiercely fought spectacle.
Burns’ cleaner, accurate punching established a 7-2 lead after two rounds. Finnegan pressed the third tremendously, but had it all to do in the final two minutes when trailing 13-5.
Finnegan maintained the pressure and a great scrap, with Burns under heavy fire and tiring, took a standing count
before a cracking toe-to-toe, hard swinging duel finished to an ovation. A superb four round tear-up went to Burns 17-12.
 

Frazer battles through

Boxing: John Donnelly Building Antrim Intermediate Championships
From Paul McConville at the Dockworkers' Social Club
09/10/08
 

A HEAVY-hitting Ulster Intermediate bantamweight final between Lisburn’s Martin Frazer and All Blacks’ Paul Quinn is on the cards as both stormed through their semi-final bouts at the Dockworkers’ Social Club last night.
Quinn scored an impressive second round knock-out victory over Andrew Watson of Monkstown. The contest had been pretty even in the first half, with Watson actually leading 3-1, but his opponent forced him into a standing count with a fine right-hand.
But Quinn wasn’t hanging around and, 40 seconds into the second round, sent his opponent to the canvas to book his place in the final.
Frazer went the distance with Christopher McPeake of Immaculata, but was in control from the first bell. His quick hands and fast combos saw him score heavily in the first round and he got inside McPeake’s defences at every opportunity.
At 7-1 down, McPeake started the second round in a frantic fashion and picked off a couple of scoring punches. But a couple of quick jabs kept Frazer on top and his opponent’s frustration told when he was warned for lowering his head too often.
McPeake struggled to keep up with the pace in the third round and, with an unassailable lead, Frazer was able to ease off in the final round for a comprehensive 18-7 win.
Eamonn Finnegan of St Agnes’ won a tense Coca-Cola Trophy semi-final over former his stablemate, Mark Ginley of Oliver Plunkett. Finnegan, a former member of the Oliver Plunkett club, gave an excellent display of measured and efficient boxing, rarely wasting a punch and, although both boxers managed to land a similar amount of punches, it was the St Agnes’ man who made them count.
It was Ginley who started off on the front foot, with Finnegan content to hit his opponent on the counter-attack and this allowed him to open up a 4-2 lead in the first half.
Finnegan got inside his opponent again in the second round and, although Ginley responded with two quick scoring punches, it was Finnegan who again picked off the better punches to take the round 7-3.
Ginley had to go all out at this stage and this only allowed Finnegan to breach his defences further and hold out for the win.
Ben McCourt of Lisburn needed a countback to see off a dogged opponent in Francis Murphy in the semi-final of the light middleweight division.
McCourt had a slender one-point lead in the third round, when he was forced into a standing count by Murphy.
However, he recovered to lead by the minimum going into the closing stages of round four. Murphy landed a scoring punch with seconds on the clock to make it 6-6, but McCourt got the decision on a countback, 15-13.
Immaculata’s Colm McCorry was in command for most of his middleweight semi-final with Kevin Shearer until the Holy Trinity man sent him to the canvas in the final round.
That gave his opponent renewed impetus after McCorry had carved out a 15-7 lead in the previous three rounds, but the man from the ’Mac was able to weather the storm and take 20-10 decision.
Michael Reid of Braid enjoyed an 8-3 win over Belfast Kronk’s David Ferrin the light heavyweight semi-final and will face Matthew Toner of All Blacks in the final after he stopped Eamon Breen of St Bronagh’s in the third round of their semi-final.
 

Final places up for grabs

Seconds Out
By Eamonn O’Hara & Thomas Hawkins
07/10/08
 

Places in the finals of the John Donnelly Building Antrim Intermediate Championships and the Coca-Cola Trophy await the winners of tomorrow night’s eight-bout semi-final programme at the Dockworkers Social Club in Belfast, 8pm start.

Wednesday, October 8: Full semi-final programme as follows:
Bantamweight: 54kg: Martin Frazer (Lisburn) v Christopher McPeake (Immaculata); Paul Quinn (All Blacks) v Andrew Watson (Monkstown)
Coca-Cola Trophy
60kg: Mark Ginley (Oliver Plunkett) v Eamon Finnegan (St Agnes)
Light Middleweight: 71kg: Ben McCourt (Lisburn) v Francis Murphy (Ligoniel)
Middleweight: 75kg: Colm McCorry (Immaculata) v Kevin Shearer (Holy Trinity)
Light Heavyweight: 81kg: Michael Reid (Braid) v David Ferrin (Belfast Kronk); Eamon Breen (St Bronagh’s) v Matthew Toner (All Blacks)
Heavyweight: 91kg: Bernard Manning (Clonard) v Ryan Kelly (St Agnes)

All contests 4x2 minute rounds