Conor McGregor congratulates Mullingar boxer on European success
Jack Conroy has an eventful few days. Not only did he become the latest Westmeath boxer to enjoy international success when he won a silver medal at the European Junior Boxing Championships in Hungary at the weekend, he also received a message of congratulations from UFC superstar
In only his second tournament with the international squad, the Elite BC youngster highlighted his potential by reaching the final of the light welterweight division at the championships in Kaposvar.
Despite putting in his fourth impressive performance of the 34 nation tournament, Conroy was beaten by Russian Ivan Stupin in Sunday’s decider.
Conroy, one of four Irish fighters to win a medal at the championships, was one of the Irish squads stand out performers at the competition dropping only one round on his way to the final.
Last Tuesday, June 21, Conroy began his campaign with a comprehensive victory over Belarussian fighter Aliaksandr Filipovich and followed it up 24 hours later with a comfortable win over Azerbaijan’s Turan Sadikov in the quarter finals.
On Friday last he came up against Georgian boxer Zuarab Menabaushvili in the semi-final and while it was closer than his previous bouts, Conroy did enough to come out on top with a split decision.
The Elite BC man went into Saturday’s final full of confidence, but was up against a formidable opponent in Russia’s Ivan Stupin. Although Conroy put in another creditable performance, Stupin came out on top after three hotly contested rounds.
Speaking to the Westmeath Examiner, Jack’s father Tony, who is also his coach at Elite BC, said that while his son is “over the moon” with his first medal at international level, he felt that he had done enough to bring hold the gold.
“He boxed brilliantly is every fight. He was drawn against boxers from topped ranked countries and the Belarussian lad he fought won a bronze medal last year.”
Jack’s performances in Hungary also caught the attention of one of his heroes, UFC superstar Conor McGregor, who sent the young fighter a personal congratulations message on social media.
This Friday Jack returns to the ring to take part in the Monkstown Cup, a competition that he won last year.