Harrington claims tenth National Elite Championship title

Kellie Harrington won her tenth National Elite Championship gold medal, with a unanimous decision against Zara Breslin.

In what was Harrington's first bout on home soil since winning Olympic gold, she dominated from start to finish in the women’s lightweight final.

Harrington started strongly, bursting out of the red corner with a flurry of punches to set the early tempo.

The Olympic champion set up in the centre of the ring, picking her punches at will and dictating the tempo of the fight as Breslin struggled to connect. Harrington finished the first round strongly, landing with a booming right that wobbled Breslin momentarily.

The second round started exactly as the first, with Harrington forcing the issue and bullying Breslin who left her jaw exposed and was rocked back onto the ropes with a lightning jab.

A flurry of punches to the body of Breslin sapped the challenger and, as the second round came to a close, the St Mary’s fighter was almost toying with her opponent, landing at will.

The final round felt like a formality and while Breslin gamely tried to find a way back into the bout, three stoppages to fix her headgear ended any hopes she had of building up a head of steam and Harrington was able to stroll to a unanimous victory.

In the 81+kg women's final, Judy Bobbett (Liberty) beat Shauna Kearney (Bunclody) to become the first Irish rugby international to win an elite title.

Bobbett, who was also formerly a goalkeeper for Meath, made her Ireland Six Nations debut against Wales in 2020 and took up boxing the following year.

A vocal crowd watched on as the exciting Paul Loonam (St Carthages) faced Saviours Cyrstal's Sean Purcell in the 57kg final – and they were not left disappointed as both fighters went at it.

In the end,