Kilroy boosts title hopes
BOXING
Wednesday February 24 2010
SEAN Kilroy moved one step closer to Senior boxing glory after he finally got the better of old foe Kevin Fennessey in the National Elite Championships to book a place in this weekend's featherweight semi-final.
It was the third time the pair have met at the quarter-final stage of this competition – with Fennessey coming out on top in the previous two occasions – but this year the Holy Family man produced a superb display to defeat the Clonmel BC fighter 14-6 in a pulsating encounter at the National Stadium in Dublin.
Kilroy (21) drew the number two seed, Fennessey, in last Friday's draw, and while most would have been cursing their luck, the Drogheda native was relishing the prospect of getting revenge.
The Holy Family man began on the front foot from the first bell, putting Fennessey under an immense amount of controlled pressure.
Despite his early efforts, Kilroy trailed 3-0 at the end of the opening three minutes, but his pressure had taken its toll on Fennessey, who looked exhausted. Kilroy remained calm and, despite dropping another point early in the second round, found his feet in the contest and began landing some explosive combinations.
Fennessey was struggling to strike back as Kilroy continued the onslaught and edged in front 7-5 at the bell. The Drogheda featherweight continued to control the bout in the third and final round, not allowing Fennessey to get his shots off and landing his own blows to go on to seal a 14-6 victory and book his place in his first National Senior semi-final.
'It was great to get revenge. That's the third time I've drawn Fennessey, but this time I was good enough to come out on top. It was a tough contest and I'm delighted with the win,' said a pleased Kilroy.
'I've got to keep focused now – there's still a lot of work to do and I'm up against a tough opponent in the semi-finals,' he added.
The Holy Family boxer faces James Fryers from the renowned Immaculata BC in this weekend's semi-finals.
