Irvine dedicates victory in Baku to late father

Irish light-fly Brendan Irvine has movingly dedicated today’s victory at the European Games in Baku, Azerbaijan to his late father.

The 19-year-old, appearing for the first time at the Games, beat Bulgaria’s Tinko Banabakov on a unanimous decision this morning to move into the quarter-finals.

The youngest member of the Irish boxing squad became the first Irishman into the last eight with his victory over Banabakov and afterwards paid tribute to his late father and dedicated the win to him.

“That was for my dad James, who died at the age of 46 when I was just 11 years old. That’s just for him,” said Irvine, who boxes out of the St Paul’s BC in Antrim.

“I had started boxing then, but he never saw me box. I just know he is watching over me now.”