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The Final Bell: Our Biggest Stories of the Week

While it wasn’t a massively busy week for Irish boxers, it was a big week for Irish-Boxing.com as we rolled out our revamped site.

Here is a look at our top ten biggest stories of the week.

#10: Starting us off was Scott Quigg and Joe Gallagher’s revelation that they are targetting an immediate rematch with Carl Frampton for the Bury fighter when he returns to the ring this Autumn. ‘The Jackal’ defeated Quigg in a super bantamweight unification in February, breaking his jaw in the process and forcing the Englishman to take an extended break.

#9: Southpaw super featherweight slickster Declan Geraghty has been spending some time sparring in Straight Blast Gym, helping mixed martial arts superstar Conor McGregor with his boxing skills ahead of a rematch with Nate Diaz at UFC 202 in August.

#8: On Thursday we published our picks for a fantasy all-pro Irish Olympic boxing team. Would you make any changes to the line-up?

#7: We revealed news that Warrenpoint fighter Declan Trainor is to become the first Irish pro fighter to return to the amateur code, and the cruiserweight is aiming for the 2018 Commonwealth Games in Australia.

#6: The big news of the week was that Zaur Antia and his team have chosen National champions Dean Walsh and Michael O’Reilly for the upcoming Olympic qualifiers in Baku following a week of observation in the Azeri capital alongside Ray Moylette, Sean McComb, and Conor Wallace.

#5: The ongoing European Youth Championships in Anapa, Russia, have thrown up a few odd decisions, none more so than the ‘knockout’ of Ennis heavyweight Martin Jim Mongan, despite the Clare boxer not being down, stunned, or even slightly hurt.

#4: Next up is another dubious decision in Russia, where Belfast star James McGivern shockingly lost in his first bout. Facing a home fighter, the bantamweight seemingly dominated, but lost out on a split decision.

#3: An opinion poll to see which middleweight Irish fight fans would send to the Olympic qualifiers drew a lot of attention, with Newry’s Conor Wallace a surprising winner over World Championships bronze medalist Michael O’Reilly.

#2: Only published today, news of Carl Frampton’s jaunt over to France to support Northern Ireland at the European Championships, was a massive hit among ‘The Jackal Army.’ Sadly for the Belfast man, the Green And White Army slumped to a 1-0 defeat to Poland.

#1: And our biggest story of the week was the hotly contested opinion poll to see who Irish fans would send to the Olympic qualifier next week in the light welterweight division, and in the end it was Mayo star Moylette who claimed the majority of votes ahead of National champion Dean Walsh.

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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