Golden dreamers: trio of Irish pugs hope to ring up Gloves titles

By Jay Mwamba

With only a handful of fights between them, guts and a thirst for glory are what the three Irish entrants in the 75th New York Daily News Golden Gloves boxing tournament are banking on.

Two of the fighters, Limerick light heavyweight Don O’Regan and light middleweight Stuart Kelso, from County Tyrone, won their opening bouts in the novice category last month.

The third, Cork native Noel Kennedy, was scheduled to make his debut as a novice in the light middleweight division, at St. Catherine’s Church in Franklin Square, Long Island, last night.

A points winner over Adam Resnick last month, O’Regan, who learned the fundamentals at St. Munchin’s ABC in Limerick City, returns to action tonight at the Queens Pal in Foster Laurie Center (199-10 112th Avenue, Queens).

Kennedy’s co-trainer, the youthful Conor Higgins, was confident going into last night’s bout that his man would account for himself well.

“He should do fairly good, he’s a good boxer,” Higgins said. “He punches hard and has good boxing ability. If he sticks to boxing and moves well, he should do well.”

Kennedy, who’s been boxing on and off for seven years but is coming off a three-year hiatus during which he traveled around Europe plying his trade as a steel fitter, has been preparing for these Gloves for almost a year.

“I arrived in New York last March and missed the [2001] Gloves, but I’ve been training since at Gleason’s Gym,” the Maspeth resident said.

Kennedy’s preparations have included lots of hard sparring with both amateur and professional fighters at Gleason’s, including Higgins himself.

One of the sparring sessions two weeks was so intense that Kennedy broke his nose.

The 5-foot-9 prospect is representing Gleason’s Gym in the tournament.

North of New York City, Kelso and O’Regan, both fired up by their wins in the tournament’s opening round, have been training five nights a week and running on weekends, under the keen supervision of Nick Delury and Isr’l Rodriguez at the Boxing Connection gym in Yonkers,

Dispensing advice to the novice fighters is the legendary Kid Sharkey (real name Maurice Sposato), who once fought a six-round draw with Sugar Ray Robinson.

“They have a lot of guts and heart and so far they are doing pretty good,” said Sharkey, who knows a bit about bravery.

His own illustrious pro career was effectively ended by the shrapnel he received — and remains embedded in his body — as a Marine during the Battle of Tarawa in the South Pacific in World War II.

Victorious via a split decision over Irish-American Colin O’Rourke in his first contest last month, Kelso said he fancies his chances of adding the 165-pound novice title to the Spanish Gloves crown he picked up in the South Bronx last June.

“I reckon I have a chance. I want to win the Gloves this year and in two years go for the open [title],” he said.

A reputed speedster in the ring — “I’m fast and fit,” he quipped — the 6-footer is said to punch well with his right and to jab with authority.

Kelso, a big fan of 37-year-old undisputed middleweight champion Bernard Hopkins, acknowledged that at age 22, he is a late bloomer.

Now living in Woodlawn, he arrived in the United States last May and works for an Irish-American construction firm in Yonkers.

And O’Regan goes into his second fight of the Gloves tonight delighted at just being there. “Being in the Golden Gloves is a dream,” he said. “I’m just taking it one fight at a time.”

Asked what his forte in the ring was, the 5-foot-11 O’Regan replied: “great heart and very strong coming forward.”

He wants to win the gold pendants presented to champions for his biggest fan, girlfriend Sharon, with whom he came to the U.S., because “she gives me great support.”

A former amateur soccer player in Limerick who switched to boxing after a serious knee injury, he has been training for a long time but has little competitive boxing experience.

Coach Delury, whose gym has produced 45 Golden Gloves champions, is impressed by his two Irish charges’ work ethic.

“I feel that they’re excellent students of boxing,” he said. “They listen, don’t drink, come to the gym all the time and do what they’re told.”

The New York Daily News-sponsored Golden Gloves tournament is the world’s oldest and most respected amateur boxing competition.

It has launched the careers of numerous great fighters, including Sugar Ray Robinson, Floyd Patterson, Juan Laporte, Riddick Bowe and Kevin Kelley.