Twenty-two new champions were crowned as the National Intermediate Championships concluded with 18 bouts at the National Stadium in Dublin on Saturday night.
Four of Saturday's finals - in the final national tournament before the IABA celebrates its 100th birthday next year - were decided on walkovers.
Roscommon light-flyweight Jennifer Harte claimed the first title of the evening after coming from behind to edge out Limerick's Claudio Enright. The Kilmallock BC prospect was 1-0 up at the end of the first in this duel, but Harte, of Four Corners BC, took the lead in the second. Enright restored parity twice, but Harte found the winning score in the fourth and final round to claim a 6-5 win.
Crumlin's Evan Metcalfe, who has already won Youth 2 and U21 titles this year, made it a 2010 hat-trick with a 4-2 verdict over Hughie Myres. Metcalfe was 4-2 ahead going in to the second round of this up-tempo light-flyweight encounter and maintained that advantage to the final bell despite the efforts of his Ryston BC opponent.
Mecalfe's next step now looks likely to be the Irish Senior Championships and a possible tilt at European champion and 2008 Olympic bronze medallist Paddy Barnes.
Meanwhile, impressive Corinthians flyweight Shane Roche never looked back from opening up a 5-1 lead in the second round of his 51kg final with Paul McGrath. Roche added another two points to his total in the final frame to seal a convincing win.
European Youth silver medallist Katie Rowland also impressed. The Geesala ace was 14-0 up and cruising going into the final round of her clash with Grainne Garvey. To her credit Garvey never stopped coming forward, but Rowland was always in control and the final verdict of 15-0 speaks for itself.
Bantamweight Jade Corcoran used her greater height and longer reach to maximum advantage to secure the Crumlin BC's second title of the evening at the expense of Sabrina Hughes, while Maria Faney shaded Amanda Loughlin on a countback.
John Meli took a two point advantage into the second round of his final with Jonathan Carroll, a right and a neat left hook on the counter finding the target for the Immaculate featherweight. Carroll finally found his way through Meli's high guard with a right hook in the second, but Meli registered the only point as both boxers came out of an exchange midway through the third.
‘I'm absolutely delighted with the win, said 18-year-old Meli. ‘This is my first Irish title and I'm very proud to have won it. He was very strong so he was, but I thought I got my tactics right and kept it tight over the three rounds against a very tough opponent.’
The Immaculate then celebrated a lightweight female and male double following wins for Eireann Nugent and Paul Hyland. Nugent was in dominant form against Mairead Keane and Hyland's greater accuracy and sharpness of punching proved to be the undoing of Michael Myres - it also helped secure Hyland's third Irish title.
Michael O'Reilly ended up on the canvas following a stumble as he lost his balance finding the first score of his 64kg final with Waterford's Rohan Date, an advantage the Portlaoise light-welterweight extended to 2-0 in the second.
Date pulled one back with a raking right, but then left himself open for a simple right straight down the middle from O'Reilly.
Date pulled another score back early in the third and then equalised with a sweeping left hook. However, 17-year-old O'Reilly found the winner with a right uppercut inside the final minute to claim his sixth Irish title from a hard-fought 4-3 victory.
Bray's Laoise Traynor, meanwhile, had her hand raised in victory following a 4-2 triumph over Nicole Hamill in the 66kg, and Adam Nolan, who landed some powerful shots in the second, made it a Bray double - and denied the Crumlin BC a hat-trick - with an 11-3 decision over Stephen Carroll.
The brace of victories was also cause for double celebration for the long arm of the law as Traynor and Nolan are both Gardai.
Meantime, Olympic BC middleweight Patrick J Ward, the current U21 champ, never looked back from opening up a 3-0 lead in the first round of his clash with Chris Mullaly. Ward's tactics of staying close to Mullaly and denying his taller opponent any leverage worked perfectly and earned Ward a 7-0 decision.
Elsewhere on a night of non-stop action at the home of Irish boxing, John Tighe, Christy Joyce and Davey Joe Joyce all had their hands raised in triumph. Tighe earned the Ballincarrow BC in Sligo their third Intermediate crown in a row with a 1-0 win over Chris Blaney.
And the Joyce's secured a St Michael's Athy double with wins over Ciaran Sweeney and Michael McDonagh. Christy had two points to spare over his Ballina BC opponent, and Davey Joe, the reigning U/21 champion, claimed another title after McDonagh was retired injured in round two.
Heavyweight David McGuire and Kenneth Okungbowa took home the final two titles of the evening. McGuire produced an impressive second round to set himself up for an 11-2 win over the resilient Eamon McDonnell. That win secured the Crumlin BC's hat-trick.
Athlone super-heavyweight Okungbowa, also a current U21 champion, emerged with a second major Irish title when his contest with Antione Griffen was stopped in round one.
