The Erne Boxing Club were back in action last weekend in pursuit of national honours with Cameron Suttle and Rhys Owens both competing in the National Under-22s Championships at the National Stadium in Dublin.

Owens once again had heads turning with two emphatic wins over two top-quality opponents to proceed to this weekend’s semi-finals.

The boxing started on the Saturday morning with Owens up against Karl Sheridan (Cherry Orchard BC) in the 60kg Lightweight class.

Sheridan – a former three-times National champion and this season’s National Senior titleist – was a tough opening draw, but Owens rose to the challenge.

Both boxers probed in the opener and looked to punish mistakes but Owens repeatedly beat his opponent to the punch to take the first.

The second session started close, but as the round progressed, Owens took control and boxed proficiently, landing with good long-range punches to win the session.

Sheridan came on strong in the last and Owens was happy to mix it with him on the inside.

The judges only had one winner as Owens collected a unanimous points decision 5-0.

Cameron Suttle, only back in action for the second time this year, was hoping to build on his good win at the Cookstown tournament the previous weekend, but found the going tough against Danny Lucey (Rylane BC) in his 63.5kg Light-welterweight pre-quarter final encounter.

Lucey was very big at weight and came out firing on all cylinders, but Suttle bravely went toe-to-toe with him.

Suttle held his own for most of the opener but faded down the stretch, handing the round to Lucey.

Under pressure

In round two, Suttle once again tried to match his opponent punch for punch but midway through found himself under pressure and forced to take a standing count.

Although willing to continue, the match was abandoned in round two by the corner.

The following Sunday afternoon, Owens was back in action in his Quarter-final contest against Killian Geraghty (Army/Greenhills BC).

Geraghty – a former National champion, and current Army champion – was another notable step up in class for Owens.

The opening round was very much a chess match, as both combatants changed approaches and tactics in order to establish the upper hand.

The round was very close, with Owens scoring with some clean mid-range shots and Geraghty landing with hard punches in close.

In round two, Owens applied his corner’s instructions to keep the contest at long range and look to draw and counter.

The approach worked perfectly as a well-timed strong right-hand counter from Owens resulted in a knockdown midway through the round.

Knowing that he was behind on the judges’ cards forced Geraghty to come forward more, and this suited Owens, who adeptly applied hit and move tactics for the remainder of the contest.

Geraghty battled hard to the very end and made Owens work for every second.

The judges’ verdict was 4-0 in favour of Owens (four judges had Owens winning, and one having the contest level).

“The club is extremely proud of our boxers this weekend. Cameron Suttle was as brave as they come, but his fitness levels weren’t quite there. This tournament just came about a bit too quickly for him.

“Rhys Owens continues to grow in stature – not only did he beat two high-quality opponents, he did so in impressive fashion.

“He’s down to the last four and meets Jason Nevin next. Nevin was fortuitous to get the 3-2 split decision win against us in the National Elite semi-final last month, so we will be hoping to right that wrong in addition to making the final,” said a buoyant Erne Boxing Club Head Coach Sean Crowley.

In addition to Rhys Owens boxing in the National Stadium next Saturday, Erne Boxing Club also have Caoilfhionn Crowley boxing in the Semi-final of the National Youth (Under-18s) Championships.

“Caoilfhionn is only in her first season back after a few years out, and at only 16 is on the younger side of the age bracket, so will start as the underdog, but will no doubt give a great battling performance as, like Rhys, she hopes to make her first National final too.

“I just want to thank all the club coaches – Greg Copeland, Dessie Kennedy, PJ Freehill and Paul Cassidy – as our recent success is all down to a great team effort from thee coaching staff,” added Crowley.

 

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