Sparkling Michael O’Reilly stakes claim for Olympic qualifier

AIBA World No. 3 ranked middleweight Michael O’Reilly secured his third successive Elite title at the National Stadium in Dublin last night.

An overwhelming favourite with the bookies at 1/14, the European Games champion beat Newry’s Conor Wallace on a unanimous verdict to stake his claim for a place on the Irish team for the 2016 Olympic qualifiers.

The AIBA World Elite bronze medallist was clipped on a few occasions by the taller Wallace, but, the Laois orthodox, constantly moving forward, found the target with the the majority of cleaner shots in an explosive 75kg contest.