EAMONN MAGEE SNR has paid tribute to a wonderful son and outstanding boxing talent following the fatal stabbing of amonn jnr in Twinbrook in the early hours of last Saturday morning.
The 22-year-old had followed in the footsteps of his father who was known as The Terminator during a glittering career which saw the north Belfast man win the Irish and Commonwealth light-welterweight tiles as well as the WBU welterweight crown.
With two professional wins inside the distance in his first two fights, many observes saw real similarities between father and son, not just because he adopted the southpaw stance employed by his father who said he too saw a little bit of himself when watching and working with his son inside the ring.
"I'm very proud of him for what he did as an amateur", a devastated Eamonn snr said last night.
"He should have been an orthodox fighter and used his right hand, but he didn't. He went in as a southpaw so he could try to be the same as his dad. He did it all and won all of the titles as an amateur.
"Recently, he was just starting what we all hoped would be a long career as a professional, but that was cut short."
Magee jnr won all of the major titles as an amateur, from Antrim to All-Ireland, but lost out in the finals of the Ulster Seniors back in 2011 when coming up just one point short against Jamie Kennedy.
He had been quoted when just starting off as a pro that he had hoped to make last year's Commonwealth Games, but that was not to be and instead discarded the vest to begin his journey in the paid ranks.
"To be honest, he reminded me of myself when I was boxing - he was thinking all the time," Magee snr said.
"I was coaching him there lately and what a pleasure that was. He was great to coach, you only had to tell him something once and he would do it. He was meant to box again in August (in the Devenish). He was a great talent, he was very good.
"Just looking on Facebook and there is a page for him. There are 8,000 on there at the minute and everyone has such nice things to say about him."
Magee jnr boxed out of the Immaculata club in Divis as an amateur and club coach Gerry Nugget Nugent echoed the countless tributes paid by those involved in boxing regarding Magees potential and said it was a pleasure to work with such a skilful fighter.
"He was a great kid," he said.
"He won a couple of Irish titles with us and fought in the Ulster Seniors for us too, but was beat in the final. I thought he was robbed that night to be honest.
"He won a lot of fights for us. His dad brought him to us when he was eight or nine and then he fought for Gleann for a while because he lived up beside there, but then came back down to us.
"He was a great kid, definitely was very quiet outside the ring. He gave all of his time to boxing, was a great trainer with a great pair of hands.
"What his dad said about him is 100 per cent, he would have went all the way and I have no doubt about that. He had the fastest hands I have ever seen, threw all the correct shots in bunches. He was only starting out (as a professional), but he certainly had great potential."
