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GazetteSPORT
Sean Mari celebrates his All-Ireland 27kg Boy 1 boxing title at the National Stadium following victory over Connacht’s Jordan Muldoon
Massive Mari win for Whitechurch New ground broken by Whitechurch BC as Sean becomes club’s first male All-Ireland champion dundrumsport@gazettegroup.com
WHITECHURCH Boxing Club broke new ground this month when Sean Mari picked up the club’s first ever male national champion over the Easter Holidays, picking up the Boy 1 27kg title at the National Stadium with a whirlwind 12-9 victory over Connacht’s Jordan Muldoon. Mari had opened the championships with an impressive 10-7 win against talented Jason Ryan of Munster. An outstanding display of calm and controlled boxing under immense pressure came when the young Dublin pugilist got the nod 8-7 after losing the opening two rounds in his semi-final bout against Ulster representative, Rory Baird. A huge following travelled from the club to support the Dublin Champion on finals’ night and they made their presence felt.
A tight opening round left Mari 4-3 ahead, a one-point gap that was maintained by the end of round two. In the final session, Muldoon frantically tried to bridge the gap, but some well-placed single shots meant that, at the final bell, Mari was champion of Ireland and his Whitechurch supporters and club-mates could celebrate. This success means that Sean joins Whitechurch BC clubmate Megan Felton as National Champion; Felton having won Girls 2 honours last year. For club coach and PRO, Philip Hollowed, it is a big step for Whitechurch who were only formed three years ago in 2009. “He was also the only male U-11 champions from Dublin to do so. Because of his weight, he didn’t get any fights in the Dublin championships so we were hoping he would get at least one fight in the All-Ireland championships. “As it turned out, he got three, so he did it
the hard way so it was really satisfying to get through a quarter, semi and final. “It will be a great boost for the club’s profile and, hopefully, the first of many finals to come. He’s been with us since the start and has been progressing pretty well, his clubmates bringing him on with sparring and things like that. “He eats, sleeps breathes boxing, so I’m delighted for him. He’s one of those kids if you mention any fight from a few years ago, he’ll know the fight or who was involved, so he’s very much in tune with what’s happening.” Mari was one of three Dublin champions the club picked up this season, along with Marco Evans and Joshua Evans, while Marco and Luke Boyle were also successful at Leinster level. The emergence of the club, meanwhile, has been further capped by the involvement of two Whitechurch members in a Dublin selection to box against Leinster in Athy this weekend.