Cathal McLaughlin in search of place in Irish Elite middleweight final

Cathal McLaughlin aims for a place in the middleweight final at the Irish Elite Championships on Saturday.

The Raphoe Boxing Club ace - who won the National Senior title two weeks ago - faces Joshua Olaniyan of Jobstown in a 75kgs semi-final on Saturday.

Olaniyan defeated Crumlin’s Jack Brady on a unanimous decision in a quarter-final on Friday night at the National Stadium.

Olaniyan lost to Christopher O’Reilly in the last Irish Elite middleweight final in January.

O’Reilly, representing the Holy Family club in Drogheda, will take on Cody Lee Peoples of Flow Academy, in the other middleweight semi.

McLaughlin is aiming to follow in the footsteps of Raphoe BC’s Danny Ryan, who was the Irish middleweight king in 1993.

Letterkenny’s Paddy McShane had to withdraw from his featherweight joust with Adam Hession after falling ill on Thursday night.

McLaughlin’s Raphoe BC colleague Danny Duffy - who also won a senior title - will square up to St Colman’s Cork puncher Oisin Worsencroft in Saturday-week’s bantamweight final.

In the recent senior final, Duffy defeated Worsencroft.

Illies Golden Gloves light-middle Matthew McCole will face Eugene McKeever in a semi-final next Friday. McKeever overcame Ballynacargy’s Wayne Kelly via unanimous decision with McCole, who received a walkover, laying in weight.

Five Irish boxers - Olympic lightweight champion Kellie Harrington, Aoife O’Rourke, Michaela Walsh, Dean Clancy and Jack Marley - have already qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.