Eric Donovan has dismissed speculation that he is turning pro following his withdrawal from 2014 National Elite Championships, which begin tonight at the National Stadium in Dublin.

Irish Elite champion Ross Hickey had an operation on his broken left forearm in the Czech Republic yesterday and is a major doubt for June’s European Championships in Belarus.

Irish Olympic silver medalist Ken Egan has announced his retirement from boxing.

A night of drama at the National Stadium last night in the 2013 Elite National Championships, the birth of a new legend, the end of another as the great light-heavyweight Kenneth Egan, seeking a record 11th title in a record 13 consecutive final appearances, was forced to give way for the third year in succession to the more powerful teenager, Joe Ward.

A full programme in the National Stadium last night, 17 semi-final bouts in the penultimate weekend of the 2013 National Elite Championships.

This year’s Elite national boxing championships are only at semi-final stage but already we know that five titles will change hands this year.

Beijing Olympians Ken Egan, John Joe Joyce, Ross Hickey, David Oliver Joyce and Conrad Cummings recorded quarter-finals wins at the Elite Tammer tournament yesterday.

A six-strong senior boxing team, due to represent Ireland at a multi-nations tournament in Moscow, were left stranded yesterday morning after a mix-up with their passports.

A leading Irish boxing official has predicted Ireland could have 10 boxers qualified for the Olympic Games in Rio in four years’ time.

Joe Ward’s defeat at the Olympic qualifying tournament stunned everyone but the local fans who arrived to cheer their hometown hero Bahram Muzaffer after the Turk had managed to extract an 18-15 victory from the judges.

European light-heavyweight champion Joe Ward got Ireland’s campaign off to a flying start on the opening day of the final Olympic qualifiers for European male boxers in Trabzon, Turkey yesterday.

Coach Billy Walsh last night admitted he could “not be happier” as the seven-man Irish boxing team touched down in Trabzon, Turkey yesterday ahead of the European Olympic qualifier which begins on Saturday.

Michael Carruth has raised the stakes for Ireland’s Olympic boxers by stating that anything less than a gold medal this summer will rank as ‘a failure’.

With his second Elite senior championship medal safely stashed away alongside world championship youth, junior and European senior gold medals, Joe Ward’s quest for Olympic qualification continues when he joins the other champions at an intensive training regime under Billy Walsh at The Curragh.

JOE WARD (Moate) got his defence of his light heavyweight title off to a flying start at the Elite National finals at the National Stadium last night and immediately threw down the gauntlet to Kenny Egan, who he beat to claim it last year.

JOE WARD may have a pocketful of gold medals — world junior, world youths, European senior and a national senior gold — but tonight he climbs into the ring with fellow Westmeath man Davy Joe Joyce to decide his Olympic future.

KENNY EGAN kept his Olympic dream alive with an emphatic victory over fellow Dubliner Michael Frayne (St. Mary’s) in the Elite Boxing Championship quarter-finals at the National Stadium on Saturday night.

WITH the business end of the tournament looming, European light welterweight champion Ray Moylette turned in another barnstorming finish to beat Arturs Ahmetous (Latvia) 16-11 and qualify for the last 32 in Baku yesterday.

ROY SHEAHAN, St Michael’s (Athy), got his World Championship campaign off to the perfect start when posting an impressive 15-10 victory over Carl Hield (Bahamas) in Baku yesterday and his next opponent, Borna Katalinic (Croatia) is a man he has beaten twice previously.

WHEN the high octane meeting of the IABA’s Boxing Council ended on Saturday at the National Stadium one was left wondering how the paranoia had been allowed to fester during the previous week’s tournament in Dublin.

THE Boxing Council of the IABA will meet at 11am today to select a team for the World Championships while the boxers settle into their training camp in Assisi alongside Olympic hopefuls from Italy, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.

HIGH Performance Coach Billy Walsh will travel to a training camp in Assisi, Italy tomorrow with 16 boxers after failing in his bid to have Saturday’s meeting of the IABA’s Central Council brought forward to select the team for the World Championships.

KENNY EGAN booked his place on Irish team for the World Championships in Baku with a 13-5 victory over Antrim heavyweight Stephen Ward, in the finals of the box-off on Saturday.

IRELAND’S two newly crowned European champions, Ray Moylette and Joe Ward, are still not guaranteed a shot at Olympic qualification.

ROSS HICKEY, who won a national senior title at lightweight back in 2008, launched his campaign at light-welter at last night’s national elite championships at the National Stadium with victory over Crumlin’s Stephen Carroll.

KENNY EGAN may have an Olympic silver medal but Ireland’s most decorated boxer of thisgeneration will face a difficultassignment in his quest for asensational 11th successive national senior title.

John Joe Joyce beat Roy Sheahan 10-2 in an all St Michael's Athy welterweight semi-final at the Irish Daily Star sponsored Elite National Championships at the National Stadium in Dublin tonight.

SPORTS Minister Martin Cullen, has reaffirmed his commitment to the completion of the National Sports Campus in Abbotstown.

JOHN JOE NEVIN, Darren O’Neill and Eric Donovan all won their contests on what was an brilliant day for Irish boxers at the world championships in Milan yesterday.

THE draw did Irish boxers few favours at the world boxing championships in Milan and this was reflected on the first day of competition when they met with mixed fortunes.

THREE European championship medallists, one of whom is an Olympian, and two national champions have missed out as the Irish team that departs today for a training camp ahead of next month’s world amateur boxing championships in Milan was named.

Ken Egan has beaten Darren Cruise in the third round of their light heavyweight final at the IABAs Open Senior Competition at the National Stadium in Dublin tonight.

THE battle for Irish boxing’s light welterweight division takes place at the National Stadium tonight when Philip Sutcliffe (Crumlin) bids to cement his position at the top and a place in the team for the world boxing championships in Milan next September.

DARREN O’NEILL will miss the Open Tournament which will be held at the National Stadium over the coming two weekends to help select the Irish boxing team for the world championships in Milan in September.

A six-strong Irish senior squad departed from Dublin airport this morning ahead of the Shkodra Memorial Cup which gloves off in Tirana, Albania tomorrow.

Ireland beat the USA 9-3 at the National Stadium in Dublin last night to take a commanding advantage into Sundays second meeting between the nations at the Arch Centre in Athy.

KENNETH EGAN caused a major sensation in Irish boxing long before last night’s big home international against the USA got underway when the Olympic silver medallist failed to show up for the weigh-in.

WITH his nine successive national senior titles secured and his place in the history books assured, Olympic silver medallist Kenneth Egan will step outside the comfort zone of domestic boxing tonight to take on Fiju Shabazz when Ireland host the United States at the National Stadium (7.30pm).

CON SHEEHAN is ready to take his place among the best amateur heavyweights in the world and the Clonmel teenager can’t wait to see who the USA will put in front him at the National Stadium on Friday night.

DAVID OLIVER JOYCE (St Michael’s, Athy) and Carl Frampton (Midland) claim star billing when they meet for the third time in a year in the featherweight final at the National Senior Championships in the National Stadium tonight.

KENNETH EGAN is within one victory of a spectacular ninth successive national senior title following last night’s comprehensive defeat of Denis Hogan (Grangecon) in the first light heavyweight semi-final at the National Stadium.

Ken Egan moved to within one fight of winning his ninth Irish senior title in a row following a 16-3 semi-final win over Denis Hogan at the Elite National Senior Championships at the National Stadium in Dublin tonight.

IRISH boxing chief Dominic O’Rourke is confident the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) will be given the opportunity to host the AIBA 2011 World Championships in Dublin.

Tributes were today paid to three Irish boxers who touched down on home soil clutching bronze medals.