Barnes first Irish boxer to book Beijing ticket

PADDY BARNES became the first Irish boxer to qualify for next year’s Olympic Games with an emphatic 33-12 points victory over the highly-rated Japanese champion, Kenju Ohkubo, in an action-packed contest at the world championships in Chicago yesterday.

Lightweight Eric Donovan made his exit from the tournament at the wrong end of 29-12 verdict in favour of the Italian Domenico Valentino.

At that point Paddy Barnes from Belfast had battled his way into the top eight flyweights in the world with a controlled performance.