Tredagh Boxing Academy had several boxers competing in the Monkstown International Box Cup at UCD Sports arena recently with boxers from all over Europe and countries such as Mexico and Canada taking part. 

The tournament was divided into two sections – one for underage boxers to give them their first taste of boxing in a competitive environment and a competitive decision section. 

The skilled bouts were on Friday and Saturday and on the Friday Sasha Donica boxed very well against Dublin opposition in his exhibition. Iris Kinahan boxed extremely well also, especially as she isn’t long in the club. P.J. Mc Cullough boxed very well against Elite Mullingar Boxing Club and Adam Walsh had two exhibition contests on the day and boxed very well also. 

On Friday the championship boxing got underway and in the Quarter Finals of the Box Cup, Charlie Flanagan went out on a close points decision to All Ireland Champion from Glengormely Boxing Club in Antrim. Top performance from Charlie given he's been injured the last week and on holidays the week before. Great experience for him and certainly one to watch for the future.

Ceejay Sheelin’s skills shone through against a tough Lad from Docklands Boxing Club in Dublin and he rightly got the nod on a 2 / 1 split decision and set up a semi-final with the current Scottish Champion. 

On the Saturday of the Box Cup In the skilled bouts PJ Mc Cullough had another fantastic display of boxing in an action packed three rounds against his Westmeath opponent.

New Girl Iris Kinahan took to the ring twice against more experienced opposition from Elite Mullingar and Monkstown and gave an amazing account of herself. She's definitely one for the future.

Adam Walsh also had two exhibitions against very good lads from St Monica's Newry and Baldoyle Boxing Club Dublin. His top class skill set had many of the English clubs asking questions about him as he notched up four contests over the two days.   

In the Championships on Saturday, Ceejay Sheelin won a fantastic semi-final against the Scottish Champion, raising the bar against a National Champion to win all three rounds by unanimous decision and march onto the final in emphatic style.

Andrew Mathews faced his old foe from Armagh, Malachy Nugent, for the fifth time in their career.  The pair had another ding dong with Andrew winning by unanimous decision and once again putting in a top class performance of skill and strength. 

The Sunday and finals day of the Box Cup brought a close to a fantastic fest of boxing in UCD Sports Hall with 3 days of top notch very high calibre boxing bouts. 

First in the ring was Andrew Mathews who boxed double English ABA Champion John Elam from Platinum BC (Bradford) who had been stopping 95 % of his opponents in the first round, this past two seasons and it was a massive challenge for Andrew who gave an unbelievable account of himself against a formidable opponent, keeping to the tactics brilliantly.

The first two rounds were very tight with each boxer claiming a round each. In the third and most action packed round Andrew received a dubious point deduction but even though he finished very strongly, it was Elam who took the bout on points.

After the contest many English coaches approached Andrew commending him for his performance not only for going the 3 rounds which most boxers are unable to do but also how competitive and close the fight was.

Next up was Cara Evans who boxed extremely well. Keeping her Dublin opponent at range throughout the 3 rounds and landing perfectly timed combinations. She was crowned Monkstown International Box Cup Champion and took home the gold medal. 

Next up was Simon Mc Donagh who stepped up a weight class to box the current All Ireland Champion from Galway. The first and second round went to the Galway man but Simon had a fantastic third round which he won clearly as he pressed the fight. The final verdict was a close points decision to the Galway man in a cracking contest. 

Next up was Ceejay Sheelin who had won two fantastic bouts to reach the final against the Dublin Champion who had also won two fights in devastating fashion to reach the final.

Ceejay put in his best performance to date using his ever growing and evolving skill set out box the Dublin man in all three rounds of what was an action packed crowd thriller of a bout and was crowned Monkstown International Box Cup Champion by unanimous decision. 

Michael James Mc Donagh who recently won his fourth Irish Title was also crowned Monkstown International Box Cup Champion for the second year running and he was invited to the going away celebrations for the Ireland Olympic Team where he was picked to pair up with Jack Marley for a training session guided by Ireland Elite Head Coach Zaur Antia. Michael James will also get to meet all of the Olympic Boxing Team gong to Paris. He is currently training with the underage Ireland Squad weekly in preparation for the upcoming European Schoolboy Championships. 

The coaches at Tredagh Academy were very proud of each of their boxer over the weekend and also expressed their thanks to Paul Kinsella and Monkstown Boxing Club for a fantastic Box Cup tournament, to all the coaches and parents for your dedication and commitment over the long weekend.