So close for hard-working Derry teenager Liam Weatherall

It was so close, yet so far for St. Joseph's star Liam Weatherall recently as he just lost out in the National Boy 4/5/6 Youth Championships final in Dublin.

The 15-year-old St. Columb's College student gave William Delaney everything he had in a memorable and breathless Boy 4 final, and seemed to have done enough. It went all the way to the judges scorecards and was so close in fact that it ended in a split decision, with the Derry youngster just losing out. Nevertheless, his performance in the final suggests that Liam is not far away from a National title.

"It was a debatable decision at that," St. Joseph's coach Cahair Duffy said. "We thought he could have got it because it was a close fight. He was fighting the Irish Champion from last year and we thought he won it and most people did too. It was a close contest and it looked like he did do enough to win it, but he lost out on a split decision.

"It was a highly competitive contest against an extremely talented opponent who has been a National champion for the last couple of years. Liam lost out last year in the quarter-finals, but we felt he had gone one step further this year and won the contest. But he just didn't get it."

It was a case of so near, yet so far for Liam, who has just missed out by a narrow margin more than once in Dublin.

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"He dominated and we thought he had done enough to win each round," Duffy continued. "Of course there's progress, but you could argue that it was the same last year. But overall he had a good tournament. He came through his North West Zones, he came through his Ulsters and had three contests on his way to the final.

"He faced Racius from Galway first of all before taking on a wee lad Cahir Burke from Antrim, which he won unanimously. He then fought Delaney from Waterford in the final. It was unfortunate, but it was a good tournament, not just for Liam, but for the club overall."

Liam Weatherall performed brilliantly at the recent Boy 4 Youth Championships final in Dublin.

Liam has progressed quickly at St. Joseph's, having just joined the club from Faughanvale club Star of the Sea towards the end of last year.

"He's been doing well since he came to the club," Duffy explained. "He's a hard worker, a grafter and a super talented wee lad. The National Senior Cadets will be net for him around May or June time and we will just take it from there, but he's got everything he needs to continue to succeed."

It has been quite the month for St. Joseph's Boxing Club, who have had three National finalists and two champions in Dublin in the past few weeks. Fionn Duffy won the Irish Universities Senior Championship in the senior elite category, while Tony Cox won the Youth 2 Championship.

"We're chuffed with them all," Duffy insisted. :"All in all it was a good few successful weeks for the club, with three National finalists and two champions in three weeks.

"When you get to Dublin, it's all champions. They are all champions from their respective provinces, you have your Ulster champion, then your Leinster, Munster and Connacht champions. Then you have your Dublin champion and your Antrim champion, so everyone has qualified that way and they all go down as champions in their own right.

"To get out of your county first of all, then to get out of your province is an achievement in itself and then to go the whole way and get an Irish title is tough going, but it's testament to the hard work the young fellas have put in. They all work hard and they got their rewards, thank God. The experience makes them better boxers also, being around other talented boxers and learning more as they go."