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McLaughlin lifts European Silver
25.06.09
by Simon McGeady, Inishowen
Independent
ILLIES GOLDEN Gloves boxer William McLaughlin
insists he’s come of age as an international boxer
following his silver medal at the European Union
Championships in Odense.
The 23 year old Irish Senior Champion stopped
Turkey’s Erkan Bingol in the last sixteen, cruised
past Slovak Ladislav Takecs 13-4 in the quarter
final before a superb 7-1 decision over England’s
Scott Cardle on Thursday afternoon set up his gold
medal showdown with Balaza Bacskai of Hungary.
McLaughlin, who had to fight one bout more than his
opponent to reach the final, came up short, losing
12-4. The Hungarian welterweight, who’d narrowly
beaten McLaughlin in the Czech Republic six weeks
ago, was named boxer of the tournament in Denmark.
Speaking to the Inishowen Independent shortly after
the Irish team returned to Dublin on Sunday
McLaughlin was extremely satisfied with the result.
“It’s unbelievable to get a silver medal in a
world-class tournament like this. Leaving the house
to head to Paris for the training camp if someone
had’ve offered me silver I would have grabbed it
with two hands,” said the 23 year old.
“There was no pressure on me to win a medal. But I
just thought that the time was coming and that, with
a little bit of luck, I’d get a medal. I have the
confidence in myself now. I know now I am good
enough to beat anyone in the world. That is the
level I am at.”
The nine man Irish squad took home three gold, three
silver and three bronze medals from the
Championships, which featured 20 nations.
Ireland finished on top of the medals table and were
presented with the team of the tournament award at
the Odense Sports Centre on Saturday.
Carrying a nasal injury into the tournament,
McLaughlin’s ribs sustained damage in his semi final
against Cardle, diminishing his chances in the
final. |
“The English guy hit me
round the back and I think I might have two cracked
ribs. The semi-final was hard, but the final was
harder. I knew the Hungarian would be strong. I took
a few big right hooks to the body.
“I had three fights in three days. He only had two.
Those fights took their toll. I was very, very tired
going into the final, just exhausted. There was only
Friday off and I was fighting to make weight too.”
Even if the final was a match too |
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far for William, he
says he’s learned a lot from the tournament.
“Stopping [Erkan] in the first fight gave me a lot
of confidence. Me and Kenny [Egan] fought on the
first day and we both won and that relaxed us.
Last year in Poland I was only getting into the
international scene. But every tournament I’ve been
to since, like the ones in Turkey and the Czech
Republic before the EUs. I have gained in experience
and learned to bide my time in fights.
On the horizon for William is the Open Senior Box
offs in Dublin in three weeks for the World
Championships in Milan. He faces a battle to
regaining full health ahead of the qualifiers.
“At the minute I have to take a week off with my
ribs and the cut on the inside of my nose. Any time
I sneeze or laugh the pain down my side is really
sore. I’d love to have more time to recover but
that’s boxing.”
McLaughlin will see physio later in the week and if
the pain hasn’t eased by the weekend he will have an
x ray to determine if indeed his ribs have been
cracked. |
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