Magee Irish Boxer of the Year
By Cormac Campbell
WBA interim super-middleweight champion Brian Magee scooped the Boxer of the Year award at this year’s Irish National Boxing Awards, which took place in the St Agnes Boxing Club, Belfast.
It was a case of third time lucky for Magee, who had just missed out on lifting the Boxing Union of Ireland sponsored award in 2008 and 2010. However, a gutsy performance against World number one Lucian Bute in Canada in March and a comprehensive victory over Jamie Barboza in Costa Rica in July for the WBA interim strap saw Magee recognised by the panel of Irish boxing writers who vote for the annual awards.
Magee also used the presentation to officially announce his next contest – a defence of the
WBA title against Rudy Markussen in Brondby, Denmark on February 18.
At the awards flyweight Jamie Conlan was awarded the Prospect of the Year gong – following on from fellow Belfast natives Carl Frampton and Martin Lindsay who had previously received the honour.
Unbeaten Conlan, the older brother of London 2012 Olympian Michael, boxes in Liverpool
this Saturday in his eighth professional contest.
Also at the event, Dubliner Paschal Collins was named Coach of the Year and Cork middleweight Gary ‘Spike’ O’Sullivan was named Irish Champion of the Year.
