AmateurHeadline News

Late addition made to Commonwealth Youth Games team

There has been a late addition to the team that will travel to the Bahamas in July for the Commonwealth Youth Games.

The record-sized team has been bumped up to seven members with the addition of St George’s bantamweight Colm Murphy.

A relative latecomer to boxing, the South Belfast teen won the initial selection tournament at the Dockers club in March. However he would learn after this that it had been decided that a bantamweight would not been sent to the championships in the Caribbean.

Box-offs would come and go at the National Stadium, with a six-man team eventually being decided.

Today though it has emerged that Murphy will join the team and compete in the tournament that takes place between July 18th and 23rd.

A relentless pressure fighter, whom his coaches have compared to Paul Ireland, Murphy recently finished 54kg runner-up at the All-Ireland Junior 2 Championships.

Murphy will be looking to follow in the footsteps of his clubmate James McGivern, who won gold at the last edition of the tournament in Samoa in 2015.

All five team members medalled at these Games in Apia with Stevie McKenna and Aidan Walsh also taking gold, while Brett McGinty and Tiernan Bradley won silver.

In previous editions, medals were won by Carl Frampton, Patrick Murphy, Dee McComb, Sean Duffy, Paul Hyland Jr, Joe Fitzpatrick, Enda Kennedy, and Conor Doherty.

Commonwealth Youth Games 2017
Northern Ireland Team

49kg – John Moran (Illies GG)
52kg – Kian Bittles (Holy Trinity)
56kg – Colm Murphy (St Georges)
60kg – Dominic Bradley (Errigal)
64kg – Aaron McKenna (Old School)
69kg – Anthony Johnston (Gleann)
75kg – Kane Tucker (Holy Trinity)

Joe O’Neill and Gavan Casey speak to Jason Quigley on Episode 5 of The Irish Boxing Show:

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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