Sutherland out of training camp

Middleweight Darren Sutherland will take no further part in sparring sessions at the Irish squad's training camp in France after sustaining a facial injury last night.

Sutherland, ranked in the top ten in the World and Europe, picked up a slight cut under his left eye after dropping a French opponent in a sparring session at the Irish squads training camp in the Blue Fontaine military base 60 miles outside Paris.

The reigning Irish 75Kg champion, from the St Saviours Olympic Boxing Academy (OBA) club in Dublin, will be involved in non contact training from here on in according to Gary Keegan, who directs the IABAs High Performance Unit.

He said: "Darren picked up a slight cut under his eye yesterday so we have withdrawn him from sparring as there is no point in risking further injury. He will however, be taking part in full training with the Irish squad with the exception of sparring.

"Our sparring and training sessions are going exceptional well here and the squad are very focussed and we are getting a lot of work done."

The Irish squad, under coaches Billy Walsh and Zuar Antia, have been putting in an extra 30 seconds per round in sparring sessions with the French and bouts are effectively lasting five rounds. An amateur contest lasts four two minute rounds.

Keegan added: "We are getting some good hard sparring session under our belts and the extra thirty seconds per round is helping both ourselves and the French in our preparations."

Ireland are using the Blue Fontaine training camp in preparation for Octobers World Championships in Chicago which will also act as the first qualifier for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.

The Irish squad will take part in one final training camp in Frankfurt Germany early next month before departing for Chicago on October 16.

A thirteen man Irish squad is in France. However, Carl Frampton and Darren O'Neill will leave the Irish squad for a Multi Nations tournament in Latvia on October 12.

The remaining eleven members of the Irish squad will then compete at the World Championships which begin at the University of Illinois on October 23.

Irish Squad for Blue Fontaine France Training Camp September 17/25:

48Kg: Paddy Barnes (Holy Family GG)

51Kg: Conor Ahern (Baldoyle)

54Kg: Ryan Lindberg (Immaculata)

57Kg: David Oliver Joyce (St Michael's Athy) Carl Frampton (Midlands White City)

60Kg: Eric Donovan (St Michael's Athy)

64Kg: John Joe Joyce (St Michael's Athy)

69Kg: Roy Sheahan (St Michael's Athy)

75Kg: Darren Sutherland (St Saviours OBA) Darren O'Neill (Paulstown)

81Kg: Ken Egan (Neilstown)

91Kg: John Sweeney (Dungloe)

91+Kg: Cathal McMonagle (Holy Trinity)