Rock Steady

Dubliner, Jim Rock, makes hard work of easy assignment at the new fight venue in the Liberties.

Professional boxing made an encouraging return to Dublin last month with the Inner city’s own Jim Rock at the top of a four-bout bill in Vicar Street on January 22.

The 650-strong capacity crowd at the new venue was a welcome sight for all boxing enthusiasts who have witnessed the ongoing neglect of the National Stadium on the South Circular Road.

Indeed, the event showed that with a suitable venue and proper advertising, professional boxing can build on its solid support base in Dublin.Jim Rock boosted his chances of a European title shot with his victory, although his performance left a lot to be desired.

It was widely predicted that he would beat the Birmingham journeyman Jimmy Vincent with some ease. This was not the case, however, as Rock failed to settle into any sort of rhythm.

Although his record of only ever suffering one professional defeat was never really in jeopardy, he was a far from convincing winner. In the end, referee Barney Wilson awarded him the bout on scoreline of 99-92.

The fight raised questions about Rock’s ability to finish off opponents. To be taken the full ten rounds by someone of Vincent’s limited ability does not bode well for future bouts.The first bout on the bill at Vicar Street featured another Dubliner in the shape of Willy Valentine.

He gave an excellent display, easily winning each of his four rounds against English fighter Graham McGrath. Richard Chaney, head of Corporate Affairs at Vicar Street said: "We are very happy with how our first boxing promotion went. It was great to see 650 people in the arena, especially as there wasn’t another seat to be got in the place."

When asked whether or not Vicar Street was due to hold any such events in the future, he replied, "We are currently in the planning stages for another boxing promotion some time in the summer. Unfortunately, the plans are at an early stage, so I couldn’t really say anything about the line-up or dates."

Chaney was very impressed by the organisation of the event and the work put into it by the promoters. "The whole event was put together by Brian Peters who did an excellent job. Vicar Street are very happy with how the event went."

He also took time out to complement Jim Rock and the whole boxing community. "It was great to see professional boxing being held here in the inner city. Jim Rock topping the bill was obviously a big draw for people."

Chaney was keen to point out the fact that Vicar Street was involved with events other than sporting ones. "We hold a lot more than boxing here in Vicar Street. The arena is an all-purpose building which is suitable for corporate and sporting events, not to mention concerts."

Meanwhile, there are some very appetising amateur events on the horizon at the National Stadium. The National Senior Championships will take place on the weekend of the 26/27 February. This will be a great opportunity to run the rule over the cream of the country’s young boxers. With the Sydney Olympics little over 18 months away, the next Curruths and McCulloughs are sure to be involved. An international match against the USA is scheduled for March 26.

The Americans will, as ever, be hard to beat and should provide a benchmark of the level Irish boxers must reach to enjoy Olympic success. Although Ireland won two medals at the 1992 Olympics, our boxers came home from Atlanta empty-handed.

As usual, the Americans topped the overall medal table, but they did not take as many boxing medals as Cuba.