PADDY McShane is the new Irish flyweight kingpin.
The Letterkenny ABC man overcame Paudraic Downey from St.John Bosco, Antrim in this evening’s final to land the club’s first Elite crown in 39 years.
McShane took a 3-2 split decision, but the verdict belies a fight controlled for the most part by the Donegal puncher.
McShane set the tone with a useful first round, scoring well from behind a tight defence.
The Letterkenny ace – coached by his father, Rory – was too sharp for Downey and continued to dominate in the second round.
A livelier third ensued, Downey perhaps knowing he needed a big stanza to tip the bout back in his favour.
This is McShane’s debut year at Elite level and he stepped up wonderfully, showing smart use of his punches.
In last Friday’s semi-final – his debut at Elite level – McShane overcame Michael Stokes from Athy.
A cut eye for Stokes saw the bout stopped in the second round, with the score cards in McShane’s favour at the time.
His win over Downey sees him bridge a gape to Eamonn Coyle’s winning of the super-heavyweight crown in 1982 for the Letterkenny club.
This is the 16th Elite title won by a Donegal boxer and Letterkenny’s 28th Irish title overall.
For McShane, this evening’s success represents his fifth Irish title.
McShane was previously an Irish Boy 3, Junior Cadet, Senior Cadet and Junior 1 titlist.
The most recent of those was in April 2018 when he overcame Aaron Kirwan-Doyle of The Ballagh.
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