Brendan Irvine – “I need to focus on the Seniors, one step at a time”

Brendan Irvine is looking forward to getting back fighting following the Rio Olympics as he enters into a new Olympic cycle ahead of the Tokyo Games

The two-time, two-weight Irish Elite champion boxes English Championships runner-up Ishmail Khan from the KBW Boxing Club in Dewsbury at the National Stadium next Friday (December 16th).

It will be a first competitive contest for the Belfast flyweight since his opening round defeat in Brazil by Uzbekistan’s eventual gold medalist Shakhobidin Zoirov.

Irvine is excited to get back fighting, and is keen to use the bout as preparation for his next big tournament. He said that “it’s my first fight back since the Olympics and I’m looking forward to getting back in the ring as it will give me a good test before the Seniors and help my preparation leading up to that.”

2017 is a big year on the international scene with European and World Championships, in Germany and Russia respectively, on the agenda. The 20 year old isn’t getting ahead of himself however, and is singular in his focus on February’s Elite Championships. Despite his young age, Irvine goes into the tournament as one of the wise old heads and, if he is to retain his title, he will have to fend off the advances of teenage starlets such as Willie Donohue, Conor Quinn, Thomas McCarthy, and Jordan Moore.

Irvine stressed that “I need to focus on the Seniors, one step at a time.”

Photo Credit: Ricardo Guglielminotti – The Fighting Irish (@ThefIrish)