The Erne Boxing Club celebrated another two Ulster Schoolboy/girl title triumphs last week and an Ulster Elite silver medal in the Ulster Elite championships following some impressive performances at the Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast.

All the action left head coach Sean Crowley in optimistic mood as he enthused: “On the whole, it’s been a great week for the club. Ciaran Cassidy performed brilliantly in his first Ulster final and after all the hard work he’s put in under the guidance of Greg Copeland, they fully deserve this success.”

Cassidy was first in action and claimed the Boy 3 (Under 14) Ulster Nine Counties 44.5kg crown with an impressive win over Belfast’s Sean Gray (Clonard Boxing Club).

Cassidy started at a blistering pace landing some crisp jabs and solid combinations to get off to a great start. Gray came back into the contest with a good rally at the end of the first round but Cassidy did enough to take the session.

In round two, Cassidy used good ring movement to evade his strong opponent’s attacks and picked him off with clean shots to clearly take the second session. Gray to his credit gave his all in the final round and had Cassidy under pressure at the final bell but the Erne starlet deservedly won a points decision surprisingly on a 4-1 split.

Katie Rasdale claimed her second Ulster title of the season winning the Ulster Nine Counties Girl 1 (Under 12) 68kg crown but unfortunately it was uncontested by way of walkover.

The Erne Boxing Club had two entrants Rhys Owens at Lighweight (60kgs) and Anthony Malanaphy at Light-Welterweight (63.5kgs) in the Ulster Elite championships.

The standard of opposition was extra high as the competition was also being used as a ‘Box-off event’ to help select the Northern Ireland Commonwealth Games 2022 team.

Rhys Owens, after receiving a bye, was pitted against Derry’s Dominic Bradley (Emerald Boxing Club) in the semi-final. Bradley who narrowly missed out on a National Elite title last October started as a clear favourite and made the brighter start.

Bradley pressed and controlled the action in round one as Owens started tentatively.

Both rounds two and three were very close as Owens upped the pace and took the contest to Bradley. There were several good exchanges and both combatants landed with good quality shots. Owens was highly competitive, but Bradley deservedly collected a close unanimous points decision.

Anthony Malanaphy also benefited from a bye to the semi-finals where he squared off against Belfast’s Lee McKee (Star Boxing Club).

Malanaphy boxed smartly by keeping the contest at distance as much a possible and picked his punches well. McKee was tough and fought aggressively, both boxers had their share of success in a close opener.

Malanaphy varied his punches more in the second and negated McKee when in close to take the second. In the final session both boxers had their turns in charge in what was another close round but an eye-catching lead uppercut from Malanaphy may have just edged things in his favour as he won a watertight 3-2 split decision.

In the final, Malanaphy was pitted against Jack McGivern (St George’s Boxing Club), who like Bradley was a National Elite finalist last October. The opening round was a very tactical affair as Malanaphy tried to force the counter-punching stylist to lead off first. Very little landed in round one but a flurry from McGivern was enough to take the opener.

In round two, Malanaphy tried to lead off more but his tall southpaw opponent was highly adept at counter-punching and whenever he fell short with his shots, McGivern would counter effectively to extend his lead.

Knowing he needed a big last round Malanaphy upped the pace in the final session and fought more on the offensive. At first this change of approach suited McGivern who was able to counter well but in the later half of the round McGivern tired and Malanaphy got in close to outwork him.

It was a gallant effort from Malanaphy and despite the strong finish the judges rightly returned a unanimous verdict in favour of McGivern.

Coach Crowley added: “Whilst it wasn’t to be for Rhys Owens or Anthony Malanaphy it took the Boxer of the Tournament to better Rhys Owens and Best Young/Most Improved Boxer Award winner to beat Anthony Malanaphy.

“Considering this is only their first season at Elite level, to be up there competing with the best in country at this stage is a notable achievement. Anthony can be extra proud of himself, to make an Ulster Elite final and win silver after a six-year hiatus is a great achievement.”

He believes there will be further success before the year end as Katie Rasdale completes in the National Schoolgirl championship finals in Dublin this weekend.

“Despite her lack of competition, Katie is physically very strong and has really come on leaps and bounds technically over the past few months. She is going to be very difficult to beat so has a great chance of winning National honours this weekend,” concluded Sean.