Sport

Brothers team up for visit of US

Two sets of brothers will figure in the Irish boxing team which takes on the United States at the National Stadium in Dublin …

By SEAN KILFEATHER
Fri Mar 26 1999 - 00:00

Two sets of brothers will figure in the Irish boxing team which takes on the United States at the National Stadium in Dublin on Friday night.

They are the Carlyle brothers, Terry and Aodh from the Sacred Heart club in Dublin, and Alan and Stephen Reynolds from the St Joseph's club in Sligo. Three of the four are current national champions.

The American contingent has been reduced to seven but two Welsh boxers have been drafted in to make up a nine-contest bill.

One of the top matches of the night is likely to be the clash between Terry Carlyle and the former US champion, Michael Evans at featherweight.

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Also featured will be Francie Barrett, a former champion and Olympic representative. He is also a former British ABA champion. He will meet the two-time Welsh champion Alwyn Evans.

Liam Cunningham from the Saints club in Belfast is the current Irish flyweight champion. He is the holder of a Commonwealth silver medal also. He meets the American John Medina who holds the All Army and Armed Forces titles.

At bantamweight Damien McKenna from Drogheda meets Gerald Tucker who is highly regarded in the US.

Aodh Carlyle (19) is regarded as one of Ireland's most prominent young boxers. He will meet Sergio De La Torre in the lightweight division.

Michael Roche from the Sunnyside club in Cork will represent Ireland at lightweight and meets Jermain Taylor who was beaten at the semi-final stage of the US championships in 1997 and 1998.

Alan Reynolds meets Olando Anderson in the light heavyweight division. Stephen Reynolds was Irish super heavyweight champion in 1997 and 1998 but came down a weight to win the heavyweight title this year. He meets Stanley McClain who is also a reigning US army champion.

Of considerable interest to domestic boxing observers is the re-match between Mark Wickham from the St Anthony's-St Patrick's club in Wexford and Seanie Barrett from the Rylane club in Cork at light welterweight. This is a semi-final of the National championship which caused a furore because of a computer failure and which was declared as a "non-contest" under legal advice. Barrett was given a 9-8 verdict but the computer had been out of action for a minute leaving the IABA with no option but to order a rematch.