Dean Gardiner can book Ireland's ninth Olympic boxing place

Dean Gardiner could increase Ireland’s Olympic boxing contingent to nine with victory in Baku today after a 3-0 unanimous decision points victory in his semi-final yesterday.

Clonmel super-heavyweight Gardiner took the first two rounds against Moldovan Alexei Zavatin and claimed the win despite losing the final stanza at the final amateur qualifier for Rio 2016. His victory sets up a final showdown with Italian Guido Vianello.

Only the gold medal winner qualifies for the Olympics in Gardiner’s super-heavyweight (91+kg) division, meaning the Clonmel dark horse faces a must-win showdown today.