FRESH from his success at the Irish U22 Championships, Holy Trinity’s Clepson de Santos is targeting European glory.
The bantamweight champion and the rest of the victors will head to Dublin for a full assessment ahead of the European Championships that take place in Croatia from March 11-24, while this summer’s Commonwealth Games will also be on his radar.
De Santos produced an excellent display to defeat Cian O’Toole in the national final a fortnight back and his club coach, Michael Hawkins Snr has high hopes this can be a breakout year for his man.
“It was comprehensive win against O’Toole and he boxed very well,” he said.
“Off that, he was selected for the U22 panel and will be in Dublin for a full assessment with the rest of the team and then hopefully that will lead into the Commonwealth Games.
“It’s really good for him to have that opportunity to be there and impress the selectors, so we’re delighted with him.”
Clepson de Santos celebrates his recent Irish U22 title win
It wasn’t such good news for another Holy Trinity man at the U22s as Jon McConnell was left stunned following his light-welterweight semi-final reverse at the hands of James McDonagh.
McDonagh had high hopes of going all the way, but Hawkins felt his man just outgrew the division and that was a major factor in his loss.
“Jon was just starting to feel the pinch from the weight,” he suggested.
“We thought he was a certainty there, but we aren’t complaining as he had a bad second round, something he rarely has after winning the first. It was a 3-2 in the third, so it was a toss-up.”
Last weekend, a full team from Holy Trinity boxers headed to Sheriff Community Centre in Dublin to face boxers from the Docklands club in a day of exhibition bouts.
Organised by Philip Keogh of Docklands Boxing Club, with Michael Hawkins Jnr coordinating from the Belfast side, 26 boxers and six coaches travelled down Stephen Kelly refereeing all of the bouts in what was a very worthwhile exercise.
“It was great to get the whole team to Dublin there, especially the older lads as it was very competitive,” added Hawkins.
Michael Hawkins with Philip Keogh from Docklands
Walsh ready to return in Bulgaria
Meanwhile, Tokyo Olympian Michaela Walsh returns to the ring on Sunday in Sofia, Bulgaria as the 73rd Strandja International Boxing Tournament takes place.
Joining Walsh will be fellow Belfast boxers Caitlin Fryers, Carly McNaul and JP Hale for the tournament that has been selected to be part of the new Golden Gloves Series of World Boxing Tour by the IBA.
The draw will take place on Saturday afternoon with the preliminaries beginning on Sunday.
Shamrock and Olive Tree Boxing Project ready to launch
The Shamrock and Olive Tree Boxing Project are officially launching their cultural sporting exchange project in Esker Boxing Club, Lucan, Dublin next Wednesday, February 23, at 7pm.
The launch is a collaborative effort of three Irish boxing clubs with boxing clubs in Palestine.
The project aims to identify shared values and identity through the art of boxing with the aim of immersing young people in new cultural contexts.
Introductory Session: A brief discussion on the project aims, objectives and outcomes Live discussion via a digital link with El Barrio Boxing in Ramallah Q&A with coaches from three boxing clubs: Esker Boxing Club (Dublin), Saviours Crystal Boxing Club (Waterford) and St Paul’s Boxing Club in Belfast.
Guest speaker is David Bell (School Teacher & Artist, Belfast) will discuss methodologies and best practices when working with young people contextualised in a conflict youth work setting. All are welcome to attend to support the event.
