John Joe Nevin became the first Irish boxer to qualify for a medal fight at London 2012 with a masterful display at the ExCel yesterday when he outpointed Kanat Abutalipov (Kazakhstan) 15-10 for a place in Sunday night’s quarter-finals.

Beijing bronze medallist Paddy Barnes and fellow Belfast man Michael Conlan are just two wins away from a medal at the Olympic Games following yesterday’s draw which threw up some interesting pairings.