Matthew McCole aims for Elite final
Illies Golden Gloves boxer Matthew McCole lines up in Friday's Elite Championship semi-final
Matthew McCole carries the hopes of Donegal to the National Elite Championship semi-finals on Friday night.
Illies Golden Gloves light-middleweight McCole, who hails from Dungloe, clashes with Jon McConnell from the Holy Trinity club in Belfast.
Slippy southpaw McCole is the sole Donegal representative in the semi-finals.
McCole has avoided two big guns in the 71kgs semis.
Olympic bronze medallist Aidan Walsh and four-time elite champion Dean Walsh are in a blockbuster clash in the other light-middle semi.
Three-time Irish Colleges champion McCole won a bronze medal at the 2022 FISU University World Cup Combat Sports in Turkey.
The ATU Donegal student defeated Hungary’s Soma Mester in his quarter-final, guaranteeing a place in the semi-final, but a clash of heads forced his withdrawal from the semi-final.
So far, 16 National Elite titles have been won by boxers from Donegal.
Illies punchers Willie McLaughlin and Tyrone McCullough won welterweight and featherweight titles in 2009 and 2010.