Jordan adds to his National tally before Europeans
ONE of the fights of the year took place at the National Stadium last weekend involving Sligo City Boxing Club’s Jordan Myers. The National U18 Championships middleweight final saw eight- times Irish champion Jordan go up against Tommy Hyde of Setanta, Cork, in a non- stop nine- minute war. An immensely close fight where both boxers stood forehead- to- forehead and took turns in throwing combinations to the body, the two 18- year- olds were given a standing ovation at the conclusion of the bout.
“You wouldn’t see it at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, a fantastic contest. Both boxers gave it absolutely everything and it went right down to the wire,” said MC Peter O’Donnell. Going to the cards, Myers was awarded the win on the narrowest of 3: 2 split decision scorecards, a decision which enraged the Setanta BC camp. Myers spoke to Irish- Boxing. com afterwards and described how “it was a good scrap.” “It gets me motivated, being toe- to- toe. I thought I won the first, the second was close enough, and I had to dig deep then in the third, so I just pushed myself to the limit. All the hard training is paying off. I knew I’d finish strong,” Jordan explained.
The Sligo teen was certainly pushed to his absolute limit and was delighted to get the win over a top- quality opponent who only recently was representing Ireland at the prestigious Pavlyukov Memorial in Russia, the so- called Mini World Championships.
“We’ve boxed three times now and I’ve beat him twice,” explained Myers.“It gives me a bit of confidence, he’d been to the quarter- finals of the World Championships, he’s not bad like!”
Next up for Myers is a trip to the European Youth Championships in Turkey this coming September. The Connacht fighter has pedigree at this level, having taken Schoolboys gold in Dublin back in 2013.
The eight- time Irish champion outlined how focus now turns to the European Championships for his third time. “I won European gold a few years ago in Dublin and Best Boxer in the tournament,” he added.
Sligo City Boxing Club Coach Thomas Myers noted Jordan’s success is a great boost to the Cranmore- based club. “This is a great achievement for us, and we would like to thank Sligo Sport and Recreation Partnership for all their support as without them, we wouldn’t be here. We would also like to thank the Abbeyquarter Community Centre and the Cranmore Co- operative Society for their continued support, to neighbouring clubs for all the sparring and training sessions, and to everyone in Sligo town who have shown their support. “Also thanks to those who have sponsored Jordon over the last couple of years.” Sligo City Boxing Club runs a youth programme in Abbeyquarter every Tuesday and Friday 6- 7pm. New members always welcome.