Cork Select Boxing Team brings home the Best Team award at the Monkstown International Box Cup

There were proud celebrations on Leeside recently when a Cork Select Boxing Team picked up the prestigious ‘best team award’ whilst competing in the Dublin Boxing Club Monkstown International Box Cup. 

The Muti-International Box Cup was comprised of 178 boxing clubs across 10 countries, including India, Finland, France, Canada, UK, and Ireland.

The Cork selection team of boxers were represented by seven clubs across the region. 

The collaboration saw Charleville BC, Elite BC, Mitchelstown BC, Cove BC, De Courcey BC, St Martha’s BC and Riverstown BC represented with boxers, and they were crowned best overall team at the three-day tournament in the National Boxing Stadium. 

The boxers ranged in age from ten years old to U19.

In preparation for this Box Cup, the club's participated in squad training sessions hosted fortnightly in the North Cork club of Charleville, and in the Elite Boxing Club on the northside of the city. 

Here the club coaches and boxers came together to work on the basics of boxing and develop their skills to help them develop and compete on this international stage of boxing. 

The coaches, Danny Fitzpatrick of Elite BC, and Tommy O’Donnell of Charleville BC, remarked on how moving it was to see such a large contingent of kids and coaches from all over Cork in Dublin competing at the event.

“It was great to see everyone with a shared passion for the sport of boxing to invest their time and expertise into our young athletes, regardless of the clubs they represented,” Danny said.

“We all pulled together and the kids loved the experience, which was our main objective, the winning and the belt was a nice bonus.

“We were all delighted to see the former 2009 WBA Super Bantamweight Champion Bernard Dunne, who presented the Best Team Award Belt and he praised the everyone from the Cork team on the very successful collaboration."

Everyone that participated on the Cork selection shared their appreciation to the Monkstown Boxing Club for hosting an extremely successful event.

Riverstown BC coach and Munster Council president Ted Barry was thrilled with the outcome of Monkstown Event and praised the coaches, boxers and volunteers for all their hard work.

"I would like to thank the coaches, the boxers, and the volunteers that came together and gave their free time to help and work with this Cork selection,” Ted said.

“This was just fantastic achievement, and to come away with Best Team Belt award is what makes it all worthwhile, and it was particularly pleasing to see two of the younger coaches from Cork organising the team, and bringing the seven clubs together for the Cork Selection team.

“I want to congratulate Danny Fitzpatrick and Tom O’Donnell for the hard work and dedication they give every week, preparing all these boxers from different club and I believe these two young men will play a huge part in the future of Cork boxing,” Barry added.