Sutcliffe aiming to cement superiority

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.

Last year, John Joe Joyce (St. Michael’s, Athy) stopped Sutcliffe on the 20-point rule in the national championships and went on to represent Ireland at the Olympic Games in Beijing and subsequently won a bronze medal at the European championships in Liverpool.

But the rivalry took a dramatic twist at this year’s championships when Sutcliffe, renowned for his big punch, caught the Mullingar man on the button in the very first round forcing the referee to stop the contest.