Published: Tuesday, 21st April, 2009 3:49pm

Double success for Moate Boxing Club

Two gold and one silver medal was the return for Moate boxing club at the All Ireland boxing championships.

A remarkable statistic emerged in the semi-finals where the three Moate boxers won their bouts without conceding any points at all. Davy Joyce won 7-0, Joe Joyce won 4-0 when beating Jason McDonagh from St Anne"s and his brother Johnny Joyce won 1-0 when beating reigning All Ireland champion Aidan Walsh from the Holy Family club in Belfast.

In the finals Davy Joyce went down 2-4 to Dylan Ruth from the Marble City club in Kilkenny. Ruth enjoyed the support of a very enthusiastic band of supporters whose influence cannot be underestimated.

Johnny Joyce secured his first ever All-Ireland title when he beat Danny Keating from Mitchelstown by 3-1 in a very good contest where both boxers gave their all with Joyce displaying ring craft way above the level expected at his age. Joe Joyce gave us the story of the week, delivering on the expectation of coach Seamus Dorrington who predicted last week that his dedication and commitment to training would pay off as the young Moate boxer, a late call up to represent Leinster, took home the title following a great display in the final where his crisp and sharper punching gave him a 7-0 lead going into the final round. In trying to preserve his lead and taking a defensive stance Joe incurred two public warnings, the only points he conceded in the tournament, before hearing the final bell and securing the ninth national title of the season for Moate Boxing club on a 7-4 margin.

There was further good news for the Moate club as Joe Ward was named Irish team captain for the forthcoming Presidents Cup Tournament in Azerbaijan where he is hoping to become the first Irish boxer ever to win gold, having won silver last year when he was one year younger than his opponents.