Boxing club’s female only event is a knock out

Gabija Gataveckaite

AN AMATEUR boxing club in Lucan recently hosted more than 400 boxers who attended its female-only tournament last month. 

Esker Boxing Club saw its highest ever turnout at the all-female BoxCup, with participants from 14 different countries taking part, including Olympian athletes. 

Speaking to Southside People, one of the club’s Head Coaches, Eddie Griffin, said they were delighted with the success of the event.

“This was our best year yet as we had a range of medallists from all over the world, including European and Canadian champions and even Olympians,” he said. 

The tournament took place over the course of a weekend mid-October in St Joseph’s School in Lucan. 

The two-day event saw boxers of all skillsets and ages take part in what was the longest and biggest female only tournament in the world, according to Griffin. 

“Our youngest participant was 10 years old and the ages ranged right up to 30 to 35,” he explained. “The age range is very broad and that’s the beauty of it – girls who are just starting boxing get to take part alongside international medallists.

“They receive the same certs and medals as everone and that’s the goal,” he added. 

This is the seventh year of the tournament, which initially saw 80 participants taking part, according to Brian Brady, the President of the boxing club.

“We’ve seen it grow 400 per cent,” he said. “It’s been massively successful and it has grown in numbers every year. We see boxers travelling from all over the globe from South Korea to Canada to Lucan,” he added.

Participants are divided into categories based on their weight, age and skill level, before matches begin on the following day.

“We start at 11am on the Saturday and we have qualifiers and knockouts all day, right up until 6pm in the evening. Then on the Sunday, we come back and do it all again,” he explained. 

According to Mr Brady, the feedback from participants over the years has been overwhelmingly positive. 

“We always hear back how the competition is very, very fair,” he said. “We also have many officials at the tournament, all of whom are Irish Athletic Boxing Association accredited.”

The club relies heavily on parents and family members to keep the show on the road over the busy weekend. 

“We have two full size rings set up and there’s always a lot to do, so we rely massively on parents and the younger boxers to come along and help out,” Brady explained. 

The tournament takes six months to plan and planning for the nextBoxCup has already begun.