UCD Boxing Club must concentrate on next years Colours match as they were unfortunate runners up to Trinity in the recent 'Brawl in the Hall'

Despite a hard fought contest between old rivals UCD and Trinity, it was the Trinity Boxing Club that emerged victorious winning the Fred Teidt memorial trophy for the first time in four years. With a score of 5-2, UCD Boxing Club narrowly lost out on the basis of two spilt decisions in the final two bouts. Despite the loss, the event, which was run in conjunction with UCD Volunteers Overseas, was a great success and nearly €1400 was raised for the victims of the Haiti earthquake. 

Dubbed the ‘Brawl in the Hall’, the boxers stepped into the Olympic sized ring in front of a near capacity crowd in Astra Hall in the UCD Student Centre. Amidst a deafening roar UCD got off to a flying start with Jonathan Timmons (67kg) of UCD quickly dispatching his Trinity opponent, Stephen Murray. The second bout saw Neil Dowling (64kg) of UCD losing out narrowly to the more experienced Ed Fitzgerald from TCD. The third bout saw UCD return to winning ways with John Kirby (75kg) comprehensively defeating Trinity’s Hugh McGeady. Following an exhibition fight between two female boxers from TCD, UCD’s Hassan Majeed (72kg) lost out in a hard fought battle against Jay Cummins of Trinity.

After the interval, Shane Murray (83kg) of UCD took to the ring. Although Murray made an excellent start to his bout, Murray’s Trinity opponent, Monty Lowry Corry, regained his composure and went on to win a very tough bout. The next bout was an excellent exhibition fight between UCD’s Patrick Gallagher (85kg) and Rob Collins (85kg). Displaying excellent boxing skills and technique, both boxers were given a well deserved round of applause after the three rounds.

With the score set at 3-2 in favour of Trinity, UCD’s James Wallace (60kg) took to the centre of the ring for what was to prove to be the bout of the night. Up against Luke Healy, these two lightweights engaged in battle of epic proportions. Unfortunately, Wallace fell onto the ropes injuring his nose in the process, severely hampering him in the succeeding rounds. Undeterred, Wallace battled on for the next two rounds in a contest that brought audience to their feet. Despite a valiant effort, Wallace lost on a split decision. With the destination of the Colours cup already decided, Rob Thompson (86kg) of UCD took to the ring for the final bout of the night up against Thomas Spencer of TCD. With a strong fan base behind him, Thompson and Spencer stood toe-to-toe for the three rounds with UCD Boxing Club once again coming out on the wrong side of a split decision.

The Fred Tiedt Cup was presented to Michael McClure, President of Trinity Boxing Club. The event could not have taken place without the assistance of IABA and IUABA officials from national and international standard, including IABA’s Chief Official, Philip Rooney.

Despite the loss the contest left the UCD Boxing Club looking forward to next year’s Colours, while many of the spectators got a taste for boxing after this very exciting event.