AmateurHeadline News

Second National Elite Senior Championships CONFIRMED


The 2020 National Elite Championships will take place this November ahead of a crucial period for Irish boxing.

To facilitate the Olympic qualifiers, the national championships have been brought forward meaning there will be two championships this year [and none next year].

Additionally and intriguingly, for the first time since 2008, the highlight of the Irish boxing calendar will be run in a major tournament style.

That is to say, the tournament will be run over one week rather than on consecutive weekends throughout the month.

Boxing begins at the National Stadium in Dublin on Monday November 18th and will run until the big finals night on Friday November 22nd.

This allows for five days of fights – Round of 32, Last 16, quarters, semis, and final – although most weights will not need this and there may perhaps even be a rest day mixed in at some stage.

The decision to move to major tournament style is more than likely due to a restricted calendar but it could offer a benefit in recreating what boxers will experience at a Europeans, Worlds, or even Olympic Games.

However, the downside would be that cuts become even more of an issue with boxers not having time to recover from small knicks or use internal dissolvable stitches.

Like the 2019 Championships in February, TG4 will show the finals night of the tournament sponsored by Michael Gill’s Liffey Crane Hire.

At present it is unclear wheter there will be eight or ten weights contested for men – with light flyweight (49kg) and lightweight (60kg) now no longer on the World Championships schedule following their removal from the Olympic roster.

It is assumed that all ten women’s weights will be contested.

The tournament promises to be the highest stakes edition of the championships in recent years as it is expected to act, essentially, as a direct path to the European Olympic qualifiers in London next February.

This is one of just two routes into the Olympics – unlike the five that were present for 2016 – with the same amount of places condensed into the Continental qualifiers and a final World qualifier in Tokyo in the early summer.

It is unclear if a win at the Seniors in November will offer boxers a guaranteed ticket to both qualifiers or if there will be further box-offs at unfilled slots ahead of the World qualifier.

dpg

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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