Galway fighter floors the odds in lifting Irish crown

Talking Sport with Stephen Glennon

Irish boxing might be going through the wringer at the moment but, in Galway, the sport is as strong as ever as Olympic Boxing Club produced yet another national champion – Gabriel Dossen – at the U-18 championships at the National Stadium last weekend.

Despite a plethora of fighters being ranked higher than him, Dossen produced a masterclass of boxing, which concluded with the Knocknacarra teenager defeating the reigning holder and European Junior gold medallist Jason Harty in the semi-final and the highly rated Aaron McKenna of Monaghan in the decider.

Listening to his coach Michael Mongan earlier this week, he would remind you of Hannibal Smith from the hit TV show of the 1980s. Smith’s immortal line was: ‘I love it when a plan comes together’. Coach Mongan could be forgiven for expressing a similar sentiment.

“My own personal expectation, I knew he would do well,” began Mongan, “but at national level the expectation was that he was the underdog going into these championships because he was going to be in the ring with international competitors. So, he mightn’t have been taken that serious by some of them, although he was an Irish champion (Youth 2) going into it.”

That said, having negotiated the earlier rounds, light welterweight Dossen, born in the Ivory Coast, was not found wanting when faced with his greatest challenge in European Junior gold medallist Harty at the penultimate stage.

“We knew going into the championships on the first weekend that we had a tough draw and that once we got over the first fight we knew we would have Harty on our side of the draw. So, we just talked about going in there and taking Harty out of his comfort zone.

“Harty is tricky and slippy but Gabriel took him out of his comfort zone with his work level on the day. He out-boxed him by feinting and he drew out Harty. Once Harty threw, Gabriel was stepping back and he counter boxed him.”

Dossen, who, remarkably, is underage next year again, gave another exhibition of counter-punching against Aaron McKenna in the final. McKenna had returned from three months of preparatory work in California for the championships but he was not prepared for an opponent willing to die with his boots on.

For more, read this week’s Galway City Tribune.