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WINNERS – The 2020 Irish-Boxing Awards

The results are in.

Over ten thousand ballots have been cast and we have our eight winners of the 2020 Irish-Boxing Awards.

It’s been a tough year, but there was still plenty to smile about and it is all celebrated here.

Also, make sure you check out our special free Awards Podcast where we discuss each category and pick our winners.

And the winners are:

The Rinty Monaghan Irish Fighter of the Year

Katelynn Phelan
The Kildare fighter produced the ‘moment’ of 2020 when she went away to Germany to destroy Jessica Schadko and comes in ahead of undisputed champion Katie Taylor in this poll.

The Andy Lee KO of the Year

Kane Tucker (v Gareth McDowell)
Boom! What a way to win your first Ulster title.

The John Duddy Fight of the Year

JP Hale v Colm Murphy
The third major final between the pair threw up another classic. Elevated to Ulster Seniors headliner, organisers knew it was a guaranteed war and so it played out with Hale winning a split.

Breakthrough of the Year

Caoimhin Agyarko
Going in to 2020, outside of Ireland, it was only the hardest of hardcores that would have known of the Belfast middle. As we enter 2021, Agyarko is rightly seen as one of the most exciting lights in the Queensberry stable following two exciting wins.

The Eamonn Magee Jr Prospect of the Year

Ryan O’Rourke
The Dublin welter managed, somehow, to get FIVE fights in during the year, racing along in his development and signing a deal with Star Boxing in America. He topped this poll ahead of Paddy Donovan and Aaron McKenna.

The Paddy Hyland Sr Trainer of the Year

Steven O’Rourke
Father of Ryan, the St Michael’s Gym boss has been busy during the pandemic year with his fighters racking up a combined 13-1 record and this saw him come in just ahead of Belfast’s Dee Walsh.

The Wayne McCullough Performance of the Year

Katelynn Phelan (v Jessica Schadko)
It had to be. The Irish Fighter of the Year gave us all a lift in October with her smash-and-grab in Munich, dominating five rounds in Schadko’s home gym before the fancied favourite was pulled out.

Comeback of the Year

Brendan Irvine
From finding it difficult to walk and wondering would he ever be back to winning Olympic qualification in sensational fashion, the ‘Wee Rooster’ was back with a bang in 2020.

Thank you to all our readers for their votes over the past week and for helping the site during an awful year for everyone.

Here’s to 2021, it’s going to be better.

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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