Illies boxers McCole and Gormley on opposite ends of Elite draw

Illies Golden Gloves duo Matthew McCole and Cahir Gormley have been drawn on opposite sides of the light-middleweight division for the 2025 National Elite Competition.

The competition gets underway in Belfast on Monday with the finals pencilled in for next Thursday at the Girdwood Community Hub.

McCole and Gormley could collide - but not until the final.

McCole has been given a bye to the semi-finals, where the Dungloe native will meet the winner of a quarter-final between Jojo McArdle (Holy Trinity) and Ryan Jenkins (Jobstown).

Gormley, meanwhile, will face Fr Flanagans puncher Darragh Gilroy in a quarter-final on Monday.

The winner of that clash will go on to meet either Terry McEntee (DCU Athletic) or Eugene McKeever (Holy Family).

The competition is being held at World Boxing weights and will be a factor in selecting the Team Ireland squad to contest the World Boxing World Championships in Liverpool from September 4-14 .

Last Friday, McCole won on his senior international debut.

McCole defeated Austria’s Rahman Altamirov in Enniskillen.

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McCole, a seven-time Irish champion through his career, stopped Altamirov in the second round of their 71kgs clash.

On Friday night, Ireland defeated Austria by five bouts to two in a tournament hosted by Erne Boxing Club in the Westville Hotel.

Earlier this year, McCole won his sixth Irish Colleges title when beating Daniel Henriksson in the senior light-middleweight final.