Golds for Irish trio

12 April 2008 – by Mark Doyle

Their berths in Beijing may have already been secured but Ken Egan, Darren Sutherland and John Joe Joyce did not rest on their laurels in Athens, Greece on Saturday, with all three claiming gold in their respective weight classes to put the seal on a fantastic week for Irish boxing.

Team captain Egan claimed a 15-10 decision in his light-heavyweight bout with Kennedy Katende of Sweden.

It was a case of dj vu for Sutherland, meanwhile, as the St Saviours Dublin man saw his opponent quit on his stool for the second successive fight, Frances Jean-Michael Raymond unable to continue after the second round of their middleweight contest.

Joyces bout did not go the distance either, with Egidijus Kavaliauskas retiring injured after the first round with the scores tied at two points apiece.

The Irish trios success means that Ireland will have five fighters competing in this years Olympics, with Paddy Barnes and John Joe Nevin already having qualified.

Final Olympic Qualifier for European Boxers, Athens, Greece

12 April Results (Finals):

64Kg: John Joe Joyce (Ireland) beat Egidijus Kavaliauskas (Lithuania) RET1

75Kg: Darren Sutherland (Ireland) beat Jean-Michael Raymond (France) RET2

81Kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) beat Kennedy Katend (Sweden) 15-10