London Olympics is the target of top Galway boxer

Date Published: {J}

GALWAY Boxing Club’s Patrick Corcoran may be collecting his third County Galway Sports Stars Award at the black-tie event this Saturday night, but the talented 20-year-old insists he has still to realise his full potential in his chosen sport.

That is good news for local boxing enthusiasts and a frightening thought for his competitors … for Corcoran is a powerful exponent with very real ambitions of becoming an Olympic boxer. If Corcoran, who also received Sports Stars awards in 2006 and 2008, gets to bear the shamrock at London 2012, he is determined to make his mark.

“I think 2012 is the best route for me,” says the Headford Road native. “In 2012, I will be 22, and that is when you are in your prime. So, I think 2012 is the best way to go. Winning the seniors is the stepping stone to do that, so that is the first obstacle for me. The Olympics would be my dream, though, to be honest.”

Indeed, first things first. If Corcoran is to realise the dream, he must claim an Irish senior crown to put himself in contention for a coveted place on the Olympic ticket. Easier said than done but, then again, you underestimate the ability of Corcoran at your peril.

At the age of 16, he secured his first Irish youth title, before months later – just as he had turned 17 – he went and claimed the 2006 Irish intermediate title when he knocked out Phelim Halligan of Mayo in the decider. The previous night, the Castlegar fighter had accounted for 33-year-old former Irish senior international Tom Murray in the semi-final.

Indeed, it proved a great night for Galway Boxing Club, as cousins Patrick and Michael Ward also captured Irish titles on the same night. For Corcoran, though, it rounded off a hugely successful year, in which he also won a gold medal at the Four Nations youth tournament involving England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland that Spring.

In the ensuing years, Corcoran claimed All-Ireland U-21 titles in 2007, 2008 and, more recently, in 2009 – a feat never achieved by any Galway boxer before. Last December’s 7-2 victory over Kiril Afanasev of Smithfield BC, completing the hat-trick of titles, was even more impressive given Corcoran had been sidelined for most of the year with a serious hand injury that he had picked up in his 2008 U-21 final victory over Martin Stokes of Letterkenny.

“Yeah, I was out for seven or eight months,” reflects Corcoran. “Every time I fought after I first hurt it, I was going back to square one. So, I gave it seven or eight months of rest. Unfortunately, the injury couldn’t be picked up in an x-ray, but the physiotherapist told me that it was fractured.

“So, I gave it time off. I could do some running, but the slightest thing would aggravate it. Even using weights, it would aggravate it and it wouldn’t heal. Eventually, I started training two months before those U-21s and the hand was grand. It was back to normal.”

Still, Corcoran finds it hard to put into words the level of frustration he felt during the lengthy lay-off. “When I fought in the seniors (last February), I fought the current intermediate champion, Pat Coyle, and I stopped him in the first round with a body shot. But when I hit him the body shot, I hurt my hand again, so I had to pull out of the seniors.

“That was a year down the drain, and that was really annoying. That was the first round of the seniors and it had been a good start for me. But I had to pull out. I wouldn’t even attempt to fight on because the seniors are top-notch. Going in with a bad hand wouldn’t be very smart really.”

What added to the disappointment was that Corcoran had high hopes for those senior championships early in 2009. The previous year, he had reached the semi-finals, only to be beaten by Tommy Sheehan of St. Michael’s. The Athy fighter was subsequently defeated by Con Sheehan of Clonmel in the final.

“Connie has won the last two titles,” outlines Corcoran. “When he won the first year, I got to the semi-final. I got beaten by the guy he beat in the final. If I had won, it would have been two 18 year olds in the final, which I don’t think ever happened before. It would have been good.

“ I had fought, myself, three of those days in a row. I was wrecked and even though I was beaten, fair and square, it was really good experience. It was the year of the Olympics, so I think they were preparing fighters for that by having them fight (one bout after the other).

For more, read page 50 of this week’s Connacht Tribune.