THE line-up for Friday's Ulster Elite Boxing Championships finals are now set following Wednesday's semis at Girdwood.

John Paul Hale and Anthony Malanaphy came through their bouts in impressive fashion to set up a repeat of the 2023 final at 63.5kg.

Defending champion Hale made light work of Ballyshannon's Luke McAleer, flying out of the traps and planting his feet to throw heavy shots with a right forcing an initial count.
A second wasn't far away as he picked up where he left off, thudding home meaty hooks that were landing flush and this time the bout was waved off.

He will renew hostilities with Erne's Malanphy who was impressive in his unanimous decision win over Holy Family's Rory Lavery who came through a quarter-final on Monday.

Malanphy seemed to always have the final say of the exchanges, landing consistently with eye-catching rights and a short chopping right early in the second appeared to stiffen Lavery's legs momentarily.

The Holy Family man was trying to find a way to work his way into this bout off the jab, but couldn't get his range with Malanphy showing good variety and distance control to score and emerge victorious.

In the opening bout of the evening, St John Bosco's Padraig Downey secured a place in Friday's 48kg final against Star's Louis Rooney with a 4-1 win over Holy Trinity's Bryce Collins.

Collins opened well as he picked off his advancing rival on numerous occasions, but the second saw Downey begin to find his timing and rhythm, working off the jab and scoring with the right.

He did have to take counters as the bout opened up, leaving it all to play for in the third.
Collins picked his counters again off the back foot and was making a strong case, but Downey seemed to be controlling things a little better and is was he who advanced.

In the 67kg semi-finals, Cairn Lodge's Giani Richmond scored a second round stoppage of Nathan Richmond as a big right hand dropped the Clonard man with the bout waved off there and then.

He will face Cahir Gormey of Illies GG who was given a 3-2 decision win over Charles McDonagh of St John Bosco.

Southpaw McDonagh was conceding height and reach to the Donegal man, but this mattered little in the opener as he timed his attacks to perfection, exploding with combinations that were finding the target.

A left down the middle greeted Gormley but the Illies man began to gain a foothold towards the end of the second.

McDonagh seemed to be in the ascendency and began the final round circling the ring suggesting he felt he was in an unassailable position.

Gormley knew he needed the round to give himself a chance and although he was forced to take shots, landed enough of his own and this perhaps was enough to sway the judges sufficiently to see his hand raised.

The last of the semi-finals came at 75kg with Emerald's Lex Weston forcing a hat-trick of standing counts in the second that resulted in a stoppage of Holy Trinity's Karl McCrystal.

Weston will face another another from the Turf Lodge club on Friday as Mosa Kambule awaits.

Results
48kg: Padraig Downey (St John Bosco) 4-1 Bryce Collins (Holy Trinity)
63.5kg: John Paul Hale (Star) W, RSC 1 vs Luke McAleer (Ballyshannon) 
63.5kg: Anthony Malanaphy (Erne) 5-0 Rory Lavery (Holy Family)
67kg: Nathan Richmond (Clonard) L, RSC 2 vs Gianni Richmond (Cairn Lodge)
67kg: Charles McDonagh (St John Bosco) 2-3 Cahir Gormley (Illies GG)
75kg: Karl McCrystal (Holy Trinity) L, RSC 2 vs Lex Weston (Emerald)