Triple delight for Corcoran

CITY boxer Patrick Corcoran (Galway BC) put a seven month injury break behind him when he registered a convincing 7-2 victory over Kiril Afanasev (Smithfield BC) to capture a third Irish U-21 title in a row at the National Stadium, Dublin, on Friday night.The 20-year old Headford Road native, who had not fought competitively since last February, was not completely satisfied with his performance but still led the Dubliner from start to finish to retain the coveted crown.It was the second part of a Galway double at the Stadium, as Patrick Ward (Olympic BC) comprehensively outpunched Stephen Carroll (Crumlin BC) to win the 67kg category on a 15-1 scoreline.But there was no joy for the third city man in action at the U-21 finals, as two time champion Brian Brosnan only lost his title on a countback, after the judges scored him level with Chris Blayney (Navan BC) at 6-6.For Corcoran, victory over Afanasev brought a welcome end to a long break from action and has set him up nicely for a tilt at any Irish heavyweight title early in the New Year. He was ahead in every round, at 2- 0, 3-1, 5-2, and 7-2, even if he was not fully satisfied with his own performance.“I suppose I was a bit hard on myself afterwards,” he admitted. “But, when you think of it, if you have been out of action for seven months and haven’t won a fight in nine months, then of course it was a good result. It was probably the toughest of my three U-21 finals, because I was very rusty and my balance and timing were off.”A hand injury forced Corcoran to take a break from the game back in February and did not have it all his own way against a supremely fit 6’4” opponent whose long reach caused a few problems for the reigning 91kg (heavyweight) champion.Ward was the first of the three Galway men into the ring and produced one of the finest displays of his career so far to overcome Carroll 15-1. It was the only point conceded by Ward during the three bouts on his way to the title. Ward outclassed his opponent in every department and showed some fine technique, and from the first bell the outcome of this contest never looked in any doubt. The same could not be said for Brosnan’s 71kg bout with eventual winner Blayney, in which Olympic BC were denied a famous double in a ding-dong battle. The lead changed hands at the end of each round until the two were tied at 6-6 at the sound of the fourth bell. This meant the result went to a count-back, in which the judges eventually awarded the title to Blayney on a 13-12 scoreline. It was a bitterly disappointing way to lose for the young Knocknacarra man.