Delight for Nevin but despair for Sutherland

JOHN JOE NEVIN stole the show while Darren Sutherland won the hearts but lost the fight on a day of highly charged and mixed emotions for the Irish contingent at the Olympic qualifying tournament in Pescara, Italy yesterday.

Wins for Nevin, Kenneth Egan and John Joe Joyce means that Ireland will have three representatives in Friday’s semi-finals. A place in the final will guarantee a ticket to Beijing on the same flight as Paddy Barnes next August but Nevin will have a second bite of the cherry as there are three places up for grabs here in the bantamweight division with the final spot to be decided in a box-off on Saturday between the bronze medallists.

Nevin turned in another lifetime best performance to outpoint Detelin Dalakliev from Bulgaria.