Victory a weight off Egan’s shoulders

KENNY EGAN booked his place on Irish team for the World Championships in Baku with a 13-5 victory over Antrim heavyweight Stephen Ward, in the finals of the box-off on Saturday.

However, the Olympic silver medallist is still very much a work in progress.

His third round knockdown against Tommy McCarthy in Friday night’s semi-final created doubt over whether the move to heavyweight might be a bridge too far for the Neilstown southpaw. He was far from impressive against young Stephen Ward who is relatively inexperienced at this level and will meet bigger men regularly from now on.