Super Sutherland leads Irish charge into finals

DARREN SUTHERLAND got his international boxing career back on track with a medal-winning performance at the multi-nations tournament in Zagreb last night.

Sutherland outpointed experienced Italian Ivano Del Monte, 32-19, to qualify for today’s middleweight final.

Ireland will have five boxers in the finals after a spectacular performance from newly-crowned national senior featherweight champion David Oliver Joyce, a second senior international victory for debutant Ryan Lindberg, and wins for John Joe Joyce and European bronze medallist Kenneth Egan.

Sutherland, having his first international since a career threatening eye injury almost a year ago, got off to a tentative start against the Italian. They were level on points at the end of the first round and he was a point up after the second. In the third round he took control of affairs.

David Oliver Joyce produced the performance of the evening against an experienced featherweight in Janos Kemeny of Hungary. The Mullingar man, who boxes out of the rampant St. Michael’s club in Athy, jabbed his way into an early lead and then but the combinations together to put the perfect finishing touch an emphatic 43-19 victory that earned him a certain silver medal.

His cousin, John Joe Joyce, two-time national senior lightweight champion, struck another massive blow for Ireland and the St. Michael’s club, in particular, when he cleverly outpointed Eugen Berhard of Germany 24-16 in another action-packed semi-final.

But it was young Ryan Lindberg who got Ireland’s winning streak under way. He build on a big quarter final win over Frenchman, Amine Erumerdach, to take an early lead against Hungarian David Oltvany. Oozing confidence, he scored with an accurate left jab and put some delightful combinations together to impress the judges.

It is the computer that matters, however, and here his sheer class was reflected in a comprehensive 30-16 victory which did justice to the contribution made by the 18 year old Belfast man who, last week, was awarded the Irish Examiner Youth Sports Star Award.

Kenneth Egan put the finishing touches to a memorable evening when he edged out a teak tough German, Rene Krause, in a close light heavyweight semi-final, winning 8-7.

While the Dubliner always looked the more complete boxer, scoring with some big punches from both hands, the German was strong and economic with his punches.

Earlier, there were losses for Ireland’s light fly and flyweight representatives. Dubliner Conor Ahern, who was very impressive in his opening contest on Thursday, lost 30-17 to a strong and accurate Russian flyweight, Ilgiz Makhmutov.

Light flyweight champion, Paddy Barnes from the Holy Family club in Belfast, met a classy Frenchman in Redouane Asloume and he allowed the fight to drift away from him in the middle rounds before losing 29-19.