Top boxers praise ‘driving force’ Keegan

IRELAND’S two most experienced Olympic boxers, Kenneth Egan and Darren Sutherland, are hoping that the IABA’s High Performance Director, Gary Keegan, will have the required accreditation to be with them at the Olympic Games in Beijing in August.

It is generally accepted that Ireland’s best chance of an Olympic medal lies within the five-man team of boxers who have battled their way through to Olympic qualification.

While light flyweight, Paddy Barnes, qualified at the world championships in Chicago last year, John Joe Nevin (Pescara), Egan, Sutherland and John Joe Joyce (Athens) took the scenic route and not only gained qualification, but won gold medals at both European tournaments.