THE President of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association, Dominic O’Rourke, said he had concerns in advance of Kenneth Egan’s light heavyweight contest on Wednesday night when he heard people around him expressing regrets that Croatia had just one boxer remaining in the world championships.

Ireland's Paddy Barnes has qualified for next year's Olympics in Beijing after reaching the quarter-finals of the World Boxing Championships in Chicago.

There was double disappointment for Irish boxers in the early hours of this morning after Darren Sutherland and John Sweeney bowed out of the 2007 AIBA World Championships and Olympic qualifiers at the last 16 stage at the University of Chicago in Illinois.