All Saints boxer Joel wins first Ulster title

The Ballymoney Road teenager clinched the featherweight division crown in Friday night’s finals at the Dockers’ Club in Belfast with a comfortable win over Errigal’s Patrick Bradley.

Perhaps more tellingly, however, his display caught the eye so much that he was named Boxer of the Tournament.

“Joel boxed to perfection,” his All Saints coach Gerry Hamill told Times Sport.

“It was a contest where most observers would have fancied Bradley who was much taller and has a southpaw stance – all factors that Joel had to overcome.

“But when Joel has time to prepare for an opponent, he really works hard on the things that we identify and he hit the ground running from the opening round.

“He possibly had an opportunity to finish the contest in the second round when he had Bradley in trouble but he backed of a bit and let his opponent recover but overall it was a much better performance than in his semi-final.

“He is going down to the Irish intermediate championships this weekend and we’ll have a look at how he gets on there with a view to maybe entering him in the Ulster seniors early next year.

“We know he’s still very inexperienced but he’s going to learn more against better opposition than by going back to intermediate level where he has proved he can win so moving up to seniors looks to be the logical next step for him at some point,” added Gerry.