Boxing World AmateurIreland will have at least one boxer competing at next year's Olympics in Beijing after Holy Family Belfast light-flyweight Paddy Barnes secured Olympic qualification with a commanding 24-6 win over Japan's Kenji Ohkubo at the World Championships and Olympic qualifiers at the University of Illinois in Chicago last night.
Barnes will meet reigning World and Asian champion Shiming Zou in the quarter-finals today and can add at least a bronze medal to his Olympic ticket with a victory.
The 20-year-old Ulsterman took the first three rounds against Ohkubo last night (5-1, 13-3, 17-4) before cruising through the fourth and final round to victory.
It was another fantastic performance from the reigning Irish 48kg champion, who has racked up 87 points and conceded just 35 in Chicago in three fights so far.
"We are thrilled to have got one boxer qualified for the Olympics," said IABA official Gary Keegan.
But while Barnes was celebrating, there was last 16 disappointment for lightweight Eric Donovan who went out one fight short of Olympic qualification following a 60kg defeat to Dominico Valentino.
Donovan's opponent received a public warning for holding in the fourth and final round as the St Michael's, Athy man threw caution to the wind. But despite putting his opponent under enormous pressure late on, the Italian went on to record a comfortable 29-12 victory.
There was also disappointment after Darren Sutherland and John Sweeney bowed out early yesterday morning. Middleweight Sutherland, who was also boxing for a place at next year's Olympics, was beaten 20-13 by Alfonso Blanco from Venezuela and Sweeney suffered a 28-5 reversal at the hands of Russian heavyweight Rakhim Chakhkiev, who is a hot favourite to go all the way.
Irish captain Ken Egan met Croatian light-heavy Marijo Sivolija in the early hours of this morning with a place in next year's Olympic Games also up for grabs.
