Billy Walsh keeps eyes on the prize as fighting Irish take on worlds

Billy Walsh is a man who is used to juggling stressful responsibilities, so having three Irish boxers compete in the evening session of the opening round of the world championships in Doha today should prove no problem.

Overall, the draw for the tournament was relatively kind to the seven-man Irish team, with Portlaoise middleweight Michael O’Reilly expected to have the toughest opening outing, but a hectic session is in store tonight.

O’Reilly meets Ukraine’s Valerii Kharlamov, Wexford light-welterweight Walsh (nephew of Billy) takes on Luis Dian Arcon of Venezuela, while Belfast light-flyweight Irvine goes in against Nico Hernandez of the USA.