Graham eager to banish his pairs drought
NOEL Graham will be looking to turn back the clock in the Northern Ireland Bowling Association Championships at Balmoral today.
The Lisnagarvey man hasn’t had his hands on the pairs trophy since 1993, but the former Ireland international is determined to erase that horrible statistic when he and club colleague Philip Cromie line out for a final showdown against Bangor’s Thomas Carson and Matthew Crawford.
“It’s been a long time since I won the title for the first time back in 1990 — it seems like a lifetime ago,” said Graham.
“I was also fortunate enough to do it again three years later.
“My last appearance in the pairs final was back in 2002, but Cecil Aiken and I were beaten on that occasion.
“It’s been a long road to the final, so hopefully we can make the most of it.
“But we know it will be a tough, tough game against the Bangor lads. All we can do is give it our best shot.”
Meanwhile, there will be a guaranteed new name on the Private Greens League singles trophy at Ballymena, where Stuart Bennett of Belmont and Dunbarton’s Alan Paul will battle it out for the right to be crowned champion.
Northern Ireland Private Greens League Singles: S Bennett (Belmont) v A Paul (Dunbarton).
Under-18 Singles:
Kidd (Dunbarton).
Under-25 Singles: D Mills (Belmont) v R Kirkwood (Old Bleach).
Pairs: D Duncan, A Duncan (Ballymena) v B Trimble, N Booth (Old Bleach).
Triples: M Nutt (Old Bleach) v C Mullan (Ewarts).
Fours: D Mills (Pickie) v S Martin (Belmont).
Senior Fours: P McEwan (Falls) v N McNally (Old Bleach).
Northern Ireland Bowling Association Singles: C Gaw (Donaghadee) v C Todd (Whitehead).
Under-18 Singles: P Haughey (Banbridge) v D Donnan (Donaghadee).
Under-25 Singles: R Wallace (Curran) v S Wallace (Whitehead).
Pairs: T Carson, M Crawford (Bangor) v P Cromie, N Graham (Lisnagarvey).
Triples: A O’Keefe (Banbridge) v B Browne (Whitehead).
Fours: G McGleave (Divis) v C Dennison (Banbridge).
Senior Fours: R Hastings (Bangor) v J Caldwell (Whitehead).
Northern Ireland Provincial Bowling Association
Singles: W McCaw (Ballymoney) v G McCloy (Portrush).
Under-25 Singles: A Rankin (Limavady) v R McMullan (Limavady).
Pairs: S Brewster, J Calvin (Coleraine) v C Hogg, M Wilson (Cookstown) or R McMullan, J Rankin.
Triples: B Smyth (Ballymoney) v D McElroy (Cookstown).
Fours: D Walker (Ballymoney) v W McCaw (Ballymoney).
Senior Fours: W McCaw (Ballymoney) v B Kennedy (Coleraine).
A Conly (Mossley) v J
SURELY never before has that well worn phrase “I’ll fight him in his own back yard” been more appropriate as Diego Alberto Ruiz steps forward into the cauldron of the Falls Park this evening to engage with the local hero Michael Conlan. “My parents would always have sat out and listened to the music from the festival,” says Conlan with his Colgate smile as he ponders how this experience will unfold.
A crowd of 10,000 will descend on the park, many sitting on the same rented seats that hosted The Open Championship two weeks ago when Shane Lowry embraced the raucous support and was swept along to a famous triumph.
Conlan’s Claret Jug moment has still to come but the level of expectation could hardly be higher as he prepares to kick off what could be a three-fight charge to world title success.
Those at the highest point of the stands will have the perfect view of the streets where a young Conlan learned to handle himself, as well as the place where he first donned a pair of boxing gloves, handed to him by dad John — the Ulster amateur boxing high performance head coach.
“My dad would have put the gloves on me and given me a few lessons at home and then I remember going along to the gym when I was very young and wasn’t meant to be there but I went down and punched the bags,” said Conlan.
“One thing my brothers Brendan and Jamie and I used to love to do was go up to the attic, lay the quilts across the floor so there was no noise travelling down stairs and we would then have fought each other with the gloves on. That was good craic and we’d even stick on the gloves and do a bit of boxing on the streets with my mates and end up denting and scraping somebody’s car!
“Brendan was the one who started, then Jamie got into it when he stepped in to have a fight after Brendan had decided he didn’t want to box.
“But I was the one it came more natural to. I loved Naseem Hamed and I liked to copy him in the gym, hitting people and laughing at them — I was a bit cheeky when I look back on it.
“I had a few fights outside the ring in the Falls Park so to now be headlining there at the Feile is very special and there is a real buzz about this event. There’s no denying the expectation on me and I believe this stage demands a special performance from me.
“It means so much to me to have this opportunity to box in the Falls Park where I grew up and I believe this will be the best performance of my career.
“I’ve been under this kind of microscope since day one, the massive TV and media interest has been there after everything that happened in Rio 2016 but I feel that everything I have done so far has prepared me for this — every fight, every night at Madison Square Garden… it’s all been leading to a moment like this.
“So, I have visualised what I can expect to see and feel as I come out to the arena and I will embrace it but once I step through the ropes then it is all about being cool, calm and collected because I have business to take care of.”
For all the hyperbole surrounding his career, Conlan knows that as a professional with only 11 fights there is still experience to be gained and knowledge to be absorbed in order that he will be ready to rise to the peaks he desires.
Indeed, this WBA/WBO inter-continental bout with Ruiz arrives at a critical juncture in his progression as he seeks to deliver a clinical performance that puts the world on notice that the Belfast man is truly on the march.
“Ruiz will see this as his golden ticket. All the pressure is on me so he can come in and go for it and I understand that. I’m excited and nervous as well because I know what I can do and I know it’s time to do it. I’m keeping a cool head, not feeding in too much into the whole event,” added Conlan.
“I’ve had four months in training and during that time I haven’t missed home, I haven’t