(Photo by Jacqueline Galway: left to right; Martin Rogan, Eddie Hyland, Kevin O’Hara, Jamie Conlan, Paul McCloskey, Martin Lindsay, Patrick Hyland, Gary O’Sullivan, Neil Sinclair & Carl Frampton).
Brendan Galbraith: Saturday 23rd January 2010. The cream of Irish boxing attended the Bogart Menswear National Boxing Awards in An Culturlann, Belfast, to celebrate the current stars of Irish boxing and their predecessors.
Bernard Dunne was named Boxer of the Year. The Dubliner, who prevailed in one of the most exciting fights of the year to secure the WBA super-bantamweight title from Ricardo Cordoba in March 2009, beat off stellar competition from European champions Matthew Macklin and Paul McCloskey. Dunne was unable to attend the ceremony due to prior commitments, however his trainer, Harry Hawkins was on hand to accept the award..
Belfast Super Bantamweight Carl Frampton (3-0), who is managed by Barry McGuigan and trained by Gerry Storey (senior and junior) was named Prospect of the Year. Before joining the pro ranks last year, Frampton impressed in the amateur ranks as a two-time Irish Senior Champion and several multi-nation titles. The heavy-handed orthodox has an exciting trajectory ahead of him that will enviably feature more fistic appearances on Irish cards and a surge for titles.
The Irish Champion of the Year award was presented to super-featherweight champion Eddie Hyland (Tallaght) in recognition of recent victories over domestic rivals Kevin O’Hara and Oisin Fagan.
Belfast’s John Breen was awarded Coach of the Year after another successful year in his Lombard Street gym.
The award ceremony, now in its second year, was compeered by Irish-boxing.com editor, Cormac Campbell and featured a keynote address by Boxing Union of Ireland President, Mel Christie.
Boxing historian and author Barry Flynn made a presentation on the careers of boxing legends John Caldwell and John McNally – inducting the duo into the Hall of Fame. On the night, there was also a special exhibition that charted the history of boxing in Ireland.