Shakira Donoghue admits she really had to win her last Irish title.
The Templemore fighter claimed her sixth national crown when she defeated Kanturk’s Leah O’Keeffe at the National Stadium last month.
Considering she’s a serial national winner, the reigning champion was always considered the favorite to come out of the fight victorious, but she was keen to point out that victory and National Junior Championship honors weren’t made any easier by her previous successes.
Speaking to Irish-boxing.com after one of the fights on the day of the final, he said: “It was a one-on-one fight. It was not an easy fight and I have to give credit where credit is due, she is a good fighter. She did a good contest, I didn’t have it easy, but in the end I got the victory”.
The win secured Tipp’s second junior title of the year for top teen talent and should see her represent Ireland on the international stage for a second time. Donoghue reached the quarterfinals of the European Junior Championships in Sofia this spring and she hopes to go one step further if she is selected for the World Championships scheduled for Spain and November.
“That was a once-in-a-lifetime experience,” he says, reflecting positively on his experience at Continental.
“It was a dream to go out and represent my country and go to the World Cup again, that’s even better. As for the performance, I got the first win against a Polish girl, a stoppage in the second round, I was happy with that performance. I came back to the quarterfinals against a girl from Turkey, a very good girl, but I didn’t do it the way I should have. I was feeling a little tired before I got in the ring,” she adds before revealing that she wouldn’t mind a revenge mission later this year.
“I’ll get her back eventually.”
