Fight Night draws the crowds, and some blood
Eoin Reilly and Damien O'Conner in action at the Laois GAA Fight Night in the Portlaoise Heritage Hotel. Picture: Alf Harvey.
The Laois GAA Fight Night proved to be a big success on Saturday night last, as both a large crowd and smattering of blood were drawn to the Maryborough Room in The Heritage Hotel.
Eighteen fights took place on the night, as members of both the Laois senior hurling and football panels were joined by fighters from Portlaoise, Clonmel, Waterford and even Australia to battle it out in front of a capacity crowd. The night got off to an ideal start for the hurlers, as Eoin Reilly from Abbeyleix got the better of Timahoe’s Damien O’Connor to give them the early initiative.
It proved to be something of a false dawn for the hurlers, however, as the footballers went on to shade proceedings from there, starting with Marty Dowling’s victory over Gearoid Burke. The fights provided plenty of excitement, with blood being drawn on more than one occasion too.
In between the fights from panellists, there were exhibition bouts involving juvenile boxers from Portlaoise and other clubs, while the highlight was the fight between Bianca Elmir and Shauna O’Keeffe. Elmir, the Australian Ladies Flyweight Champion and ranked No 3 in the world is over training with local coach Pat Ryan as she tries to make it to the Olympics.
All monies raised on the night will go towards the training funds for both panels.
SEE THIS WEEK’S LEINSTER EXPRESS (JANURY 25) FOR EXTENSIVE PHOTOGRAPHIC COVERAGE
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Monday 21 May 2012
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