Irish reap boxing benefits

Steeped in the past achievements of legends like Barry McGuigan and Wayne McCullough, Ireland’s five-strong boxing squad heads to Beijing in fine shape to add their own chapter to their nation’s illustrious fighting history.

The qualifying of Paddy Barnes, John Joe Nevin, John Joe Joyce, Darren Sutherland and Kenneth Egan represents a huge improvement for the Irish, who took just one boxer to each of the previous two Olympics.