Grainne Walsh claimed a stunning victory over World and European light welterweight champion Amy Broadhurst at the National Elite Championships in Dublin.
Fighting in the women's 66kg final, this always looked to be a potential banana skin for Broadhurst and so it proved to be.
After a tentative opening with both fighters feeling each other out, Walsh settled into her rhythm and was fighting well on the inside, blocking most of what Broadhurst was throwing her way. But as the opening stanza drew to a close, Broadhust began to find gaps in Walsh’s defence.
As the bell went to end the first, both fighters nodded to each other in acknowledgement of a round that looked almost too close to call.
Knowing that she had to improve, Broadhurst started the second round in a hurry and had the crowd on their feet as she rattled Walsh with a powerful right. That encouraged the Dundalk woman and suddenly she was fighting more freely, landing with big combinations.
Walsh was still a threat on the counter however and ended the round strongly, tying up he opponent on the ropes and raining down some big blows to give the judges plenty to consider as she finished the second round on top.
The counter-punching of Walsh remained a threat as the final round begun and she caught Broadhurst flush with a right hook, knocking her back onto the ropes before following it up with a powerful flurry.
Broadhurst tried to finish the final round strongly and attempted to keep Walsh at distance with her jab but the Tullamore native kept finding a way to slip inside that jab and land with telling shots from close in.
The final bell went with both fighters embracing but as they returned to their corners it was Walsh who was celebrating, and her confidence was well placed as the judges awarded her the fight on a split decision - 3-2.
Kellie Harrington won her tenth National Elite Championship gold medal, with a unanimous decision against Zara Breslin.
In what was Harrington's first bout on home soil since winning Olympic gold, she dominated from start to finish in the women’s lightweight final.
Harrington started strongly, bursting out of the red corner with a flurry of punches to set the early tempo.
The Olympic champion set up in the centre of the ring, picking her punches at will and dictating the tempo of the fight as Breslin struggled to connect. Harrington finished the first round strongly, landing with a booming right that wobbled Breslin momentarily.
The second round started exactly as the first, with Harrington forcing the issue and bullying Breslin who left her jaw exposed and was rocked back onto the ropes with a lightning jab.
A flurry of punches to the body of Breslin sapped the challenger and, as the second round came to a close, the St Mary’s fighter was almost toying with her opponent, landing at will.
The final round felt like a formality and while Breslin gamely tried to find a way back into the bout, three stoppages to fix her headgear ended any hopes she had of building up a head of steam and Harrington was able to stroll to a unanimous victory.
European middleweight champion Aoife O'Rourke came out on top in an exciting 75kg bout with Aoibhe Carabine of Geesala BC.
O’Rourke shaded a closely contested opening round in which she didn’t have things her own way and Carabine put her under pressure at the start of the second, drawing O’Rourke into more of a brawl than she would have liked.
Midway through the second, O’Rourke’s class began to tell however and she was able to keep Carabine at a more favourable distance as she began to land with more accuracy from range.
With the sense that the fight could still be up for grabs going into the final round, O’Rourke raced out looking to make sure of things. Her better mobility was enough to keep her out of trouble as she continued to pick off her opponent with some smart combinations.
Carabine faded as the final round drew to a close and O’Rourke ramped up her work-rate and she eventually emerged as the unanimous winner.
Irish Olympian Michaela Walsh claimed a comprehensive win over Kelsey Leonard in the women's 57kg final.
Walsh was never in trouble and always looked to be class above her opponent as she fought her way to a convincing 5-0 victory.
It was Walsh’s tenth National Elite title and she joined Harrington, Kenneth Egan and Jim O’Sullivan on reaching that milestone.
Dean Walsh completed a remarkable comeback story as he claimed victory in the men's 71kg final, getting the better of Jon McConnell on a 4-1 decision.
Walsh returned to amateur boxing after three years away from the sport and silenced all doubters with his semi-final victory over Olympic bronze medallist Aidan Walsh on Friday night.
He followed that up with an impressive display against McConnell and took a fully deserved victory, for his fifth National Elite title.
In the 81+kg women's final, Judy Bobbett (Liberty) beat Shauna Kearney (Bunclody) to become the first Irish rugby international to win an elite title.
Bobbett, who was also formerly a goalkeeper for Meath, made her Ireland Six Nations debut against Wales in 2020 and took up boxing the following year.
A vocal crowd watched on as the exciting Paul Loonam (St Carthages) faced Saviours Cyrstal's Sean Purcell in the 57kg final – and they were not left disappointed as both fighters went at it.
In the end, Loonam, who produced some brilliant counter punching as Purcell came forward, took the nod on all judges’ cards.
In the opening bout in Dublin, Bethany Doocey (Casltebar) retained her Irish title with an impressive unanimous win over World and European youth medal winner Dearbhla Tinnelly (Clann Naofa) in the 81kg division.
Holy Family’s Rickey Nesbitt also retained his title, but only after having to dig deep for a 3-2 win over Paudraig Downey (St John Bosco A).
There was better joy for Downey’s fellow Antrim fighter Nicole Clyde, who lost the 2021 final, as she had a 3-2 52kg win over Chloe Gabriel (Mulhuddart) in an entertaining fare.
A cut intervened in the 92+kg meeting of William J McCartan (Gilford) and Gytis Lisinskas (Celtic) with the Celtic man getting the nod as a result.
In the 63kg women’s final, Shauna Browne-O’Keefe (Clonmel) defeated Winnie Christina McDonagh (Neilstown) on a unanimous decision.
Christopher O'Reilly (Holy Family) and Joshua Olaniyan (Jobstown) produced a brilliant 75kg final with both exhausted by the end of the three rounds. It was O’Reilly who took the honours 3-2.
The was more gold for the Holy Family club in the 60kg final as Davey Joyce claimed a convincing victory over Jason Nevin (Olympic). Joyce emerged victorious on a 4-1 decision, with the high point coming in the second round as he forced Nevin into a standing count.
Brandon McCarthy's semi-final with Aaron O'Donohue on Friday had been stopped early in the second round after the former suffered a cut. He advanced due to winning the first round but was unable to compete in the final giving Dean Clancy the 63.5kg title.
Dmytro Oliynyk was also crowned 86kg champion after Newry man Kane Tucker was forced to withdraw with a broken hand.
