Team Ireland Returns Preview Story November 2024

Boxers from Ireland are returning to Scranton for a third time to compete locally and they are bringing their largest team yet.

Eighteen amateur boxers from County Kerry, Dublin and Cork will face members of Scranton’s Irish Boxing Club and several other clubs at Team Ireland Returns Club International Boxing 3 on Nov. 2 at the Holiday Inn Scranton East in Dunmore.

Promoter Doug Long first promoted a card featuring seven boxers from Ireland in 2022. That number grew to 11 for a second card in 2023 and increased again to 18 for a third event that will feature youth boxers, Masters Division boxers and females in addition to the men’s team.

“It’s grown because with the team we have here in Scranton, everyone is working hard to give them the greatest experience and then they go back to Ireland and they’re showing videos and the gyms are buzzing about ‘how can we go to the next show’,” Long said. “It is a big deal for our area and it’s become a bigger event every time I do it.”

Because of the number of boxers from Ireland interested in competing at the event, Long had to reach out to others clubs to fill the card. In addition to eight boxers from the Scranton club, boxers from Harrisburg, Allentown and New Jersey will compete. The main event will feature Dustin Jimenez from Rochester, New York, who won the 139-pound title at the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in May. He is scheduled to face Evan Fitzgerald, who was a finalist at Ireland’s Celtic Box Cup tournament in Dungarven.

“It is the best main event I’ve ever put together in amateur boxing,” Long said.

Anthony Muta from the Irish Boxing Club is scheduled to face Cahir Gormley, who reached the semifinals in Ireland’s National U-22 Championships in July.

Zach Venesky is scheduled to compete on the card when he faces Ronan Malone in a heavyweight bout.

Venesky, who was a member of Valley View’s football and wrestling teams and went on to play football at Rutgers, started boxing when he was too big to play junior football. When he joined the football team in high school and began to get attention from recruiters, he put away the boxing gloves and earned a scholarship to Rutgers, where he was a team captain in his senior year. Now that his football career has ended, he has gotten back in the ring.

“Boxing was kind of my first sport,” Venesky said. “Now that I’m done playing ball, it’s kind of like something that will scratch that competitive itch.”

Venesky won his first bout in 2021 but took another break when he moved out of the area. He has since returned to Northeastern Pennsylvania and has been training steadily since April.

“We’ve put a lot of work in,” he said. “A lot of sparring, heavy bag work, pad work. It’s been great not only from a physical standpoint but it’s that competitive itch that I talked about and working towards being the best I could possibly be.”

Evan Fitzgerald's boxing journey began 16 years ago as a 9-year-old who wanted to try something new. The next stop on that journey is Northeastern Pennsylvania as the 140-pounder from outside Dublin, Ireland will headline the Team Ireland Returns Club International Boxing 3 card on Nov. 2 at the Holiday Inn Scranton East in Dunmore.

Fitzgerald, who has more than 100 amateur bouts on his resume is scheduled to face Dustin Jimenez of Rochester, New York. Jimenez is also a seasoned fighter who won the 139-pound title at the National Golden Gloves Tournament of Champions in May and trained with the U.S. Olympic team in Colorado Springs prior to this year's Summer Games in Paris. Fitzgerald was a finalist at Ireland’s Celtic Box Cup tournament in Dungarven and has participated in Ireland's National Elite Championships on several occasions, reaching the semifinals in a lower weight class.

“I feel like I've done a lot with boxing,” Fitzgerald said. “But I've never reached the champion level. I always came up short so I feel like I have a chip on my shoulder; like I have to prove myself.”

Following the bout in Dunmore, Fitzgerald will have a quick turnaround as he will again compete at the National Elite Championships on Nov. 11-15 in Dublin.

“(Having fights close together is) normally what it's like in competitions,” he said. “It's really good to get it in but I'm fully focused on this fight. I'm feeling good and I'm in really good shape.”

Fitzgerald, who resides in Lucan, a suburb seven miles outside of Dublin, began boxing when the town of 57,000 opened it's own gym and he says he was 'a young kid looking for something to do'. His gym is currently in the process of moving so, in the meantime, he has been training at a different facility.

“I'm training with a different club and learning their new styles,” he said. “It's challenging but it's been great.”

Fitzgerald has traveled to the United States before for boxing tournaments in Chicago and Pittsburgh and has also visited Florida. And he isn't totally unfamiliar with Scranton, identifying it as the setting for the TV show “The Office”. He also has seen videos from the two prior cards that featured boxers from Ireland competing in Dunmore.

“The last show looked unbelievable with the setup and layout,” he said. “I can't wait to be a part of it.”

The card is scheduled for 21 bouts with 18 featuring boxers from Ireland. Josiah Gardenhire, Jarrod Thomas, Zack Venesky and Stefhan Caple from Scranton's Irish Boxing Club are scheduled to face opponents from Ireland. Gennadii Kozlov from Team Heat also based in Scranton will also compete against a boxer from Ireland as will Anthony Muta of Newfoundland. Jesse Burke from the Irish Boxing Club and Evan Minicozzi from Team Heat will also be on the card against other American boxers.