Last updated at 17:14, Monday, 26 November 2012

PAT Ryan would have been delighted by the knockout performances of the valiant young boxers at the Pat Ryan Dinner at the Ringside on Friday.

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The boxing legend is no longer with us but his spirit lives on at the Furness Catholic Amateur Boxing Club through his family

Held at The Forum, Barrow, the annual event drew a full house and spectators cheered throughout an evening that had eight bouts, six of which included representatives from the Furness Catholic ABC.

Training at the Lyceum Hall by the Furness team in the build-up had been demanding and it was needed as fighters found competition keen from their adversaries.

Schoolboy fighter Ethan Doyle did the Barrow club proud in the opening event against Troy Gallagher, representing Lancaster Boxing Academy. He showed some neat footwork in the opening round and plenty of power in attack.

Fighting with control and vigour, Doyle showed an abundance of skills from one so young, with many of his measured punches often finding the target.

Gallagher came back with his own salvo towards the end of the round, but moments after the second round began the classy Doyle began to overcome his opponent.

Gallagher had nothing to lose in the final round and came out with all guns blazing, rocking Doyle.

But Doyle held off the attack to force his way back strongly, with the judges’ marks earning him an unanimous verdict.

Brendan Quinn was hoping to keep the Furness flag flying in the first senior bout of the night and, although he landed some good punches, his southpaw opponent Mohammed J Asghar, representing Blackburn with Darwen, seized his chances, to gain a unanimous verdict.

It was down to Sam Elliot, competing in his first bout, to restore some pride for Furness Catholic ABC, and he did so against another boxing making his ring baptism, Daniel McLaughlin, of Currock House ABC, in Carlisle.

It was hard to believe these two senior fighters were battling out in public for the first time as they both showed plenty of gutsy character in a bout which proved to be a thriller, with both fighters not wishing to yield ground.

Elliot in the main, seemed the more convincing with his effort hard to ignore by both the spectators and judges alike, and eventually his aggressive boxing proved to be too irresistible to ignore, with the fearless fighting machine getting a majority verdict.

Senior Furness boxer Keiron O’Hara came across George Martindale, of Blackrod ABC, who looked a classy boxer, showing great skill both in attack and defence in the opening round. But O’Hara found gaps at the start of the second round, connecting with punches to the head and body.

Martindale stepped up his attack finding the target and O’Hara took his first standing count, before Martindale caught his opponent soon after for a second standing count, leaving referee Kevin Ryan no option but to stop the fight in the visiting boxer’s favour.

Furness Catholic ABC’s Paul Ryan found Brent Robinson, of Currock House, too tough a contender in bout seven and the visitor headed home with a unanimous verdict, while in the final bout of the night, Andrew Johnston, Cleator ABC, with blood dripping from his nose after being caught by his opponent, scored a majority win over Furness boxer Darrell Groves.

Fans of the amateur boxing scene will never forget Pat, who died last year, but his legacy continues with Team Ryan, his sons Gary Kevin, Michael and Sean, who is currently in hospital, and grandson Paul.

Gary said later: “Dad would have been as proud as punch.”

His brother Kevin, added: “The guys gave their all. Michael has been working hard with the guys, which is what it is all about, a team working together.”

First published at 17:01, Monday, 26 November 2012
Published by http://www.nwemail.co.uk