EYES ON THE PRIZE
Tuam boxer seeks Olympic qualification in Italy
A VICTORY in the quarter-finals of the first Olympic World Qualifier of the year in Italy in a few weeks will earn Tuam’s Martin McDonagh a plane ticket to the Paris Olympics.
Martin’s rise to the top of Irish amateur boxing has been meteoric. He has claimed four Irish titles – Novices, U22, Senior and Elite – in just ten fights, which is remarkable when one considers that he only started training seriously for boxing in 2021.
He was named in the IABA (Irish Amateur Boxing Association) High Performance Olympic training squad of 22 boxers this month by head coach Zaur Antia. Martin turns 21 in February and is one of eight boxers from that squad going to the Olympic World Qualifier in the small Italian city of Busto Arsizio outside Milan, a competition that is being held from February 29 to March 12.
“My father would have trained me out the back of the house. We have a bit of a ring set up. I’d brothers here to spar with,” said Martin, who is from the Weir Road in Tuam.
“I’m boxing seriously for the last two years. I’m six feet six inches. I wasn’t allowed to do anything much before then because I was too big.”
Martin McDonagh is the son of John and Winnie. His brothers are Edward, Willie, John, Tom and Michael, and his sisters are Teresa, Ellen, Winifred and Brigid.
He weighs in at roughly 18 stone and competes in the Superheavyweight division of 92+kg…
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