Young Athlone boxers win eight medals at tournament in England

Eight young boxers from Athlone Boxing Club flew home from a tournament in England on Sunday night with eight medals in their luggage.

The club's successful participation at the Barum Box Cup in Devon yielded four gold, one silver, and three bronze medals.

Christy Joyce, Joe Ward, and JP Joyce all won gold, while Oisin Donoghue also took home the gold, on a walkover, when the opponent he was due to face in his final failed to make the weight.

Fourteen-year-old Joe Joyce faced a European champion at that level in his final and came out on the wrong end of a very tight split decision, while there were also close decisions in fights involving bronze medal winners Tommy Joyce, Rian Hayden and Tom Stokes.

Speaking to the Westmeath Independent on Monday, Athlone Boxing Club coach Rory Parkes was delighted with how the locals acquitted themselves in their first taste of international competition.

“It was a long and exhausting weekend of boxing action, and the standard was very high, but I'm very happy with how things went for our boxers.

“Each one of them left absolutely everything in the ring, and we are really proud of them,” he said.

Rory said Christy Joyce (junior, 63kg) produced excellent displays to defeat a Welsh boxer and two English boxers en route to his gold medal.

Joe Ward (schoolboy, 44.5kg), eldest son of the professional boxer of the same name, produced “a fantastic display of boxing skill” in his final, according to Rory.

Another of the club's younger members, JP Joyce (minor, 52kg), also took home the gold, while Rory felt Joe Joyce (junior, 80kg) was unlucky not to do likewise.

Rian Hayden (junior, 54kg) lost out on a close split decision in his semi-final, while Tommy Joyce (minor, 38kg) and Tom Stokes (youth, 86kg) also took bronze, with the latter scoring a knockdown against his English opponent before coming out on the wrong side of the decision.

The tournament took place at the Ilfracombe Holiday Park in Devon last Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Boxers from England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France competed, and Rory said the Athlone group really enjoyed the experience.

“There is always great bonding when you bring a team away like that. Friendships are formed, and they all cheer each other on.

“It also sets the standard for their development as boxers because they know what the benchmark is now,” he said.

Two of the boxers from the team, Christy Joyce and Rian Hayden, will be heading abroad again this weekend to compete with the Leinster development squad at a European boxing tournament in Latvia.

Professional light heavyweight Joe Ward also congratulated the Athlone boxers on their performance at the tournament.

“They gained a lot of experience from it, and we are so looking forward to seeing the development of all of these lads,” he said.