Sutherland steps up to fulfil big fight destiny

DARREN SUTHERLAND looks set to fulfil another ambition tonight by claiming a national senior title at the National Stadium.

One can never dismiss an opponent and Sutherland will have a lot of respect for Edward Healy when they touch gloves for the middleweight final, but the talented Portlaoise man is short on experience and would cause a major surprise if he was to win.

Kenneth Egan of Neilstown looks another virtual certainty. The Dubliner - the most experienced member of the High Performance Squad - will be going for a sixth successive light heavyweight title. Last year he beat fellow Dubliner, Darren O’Neill (Paulstown), pretty convincingly and there is nothing to suggest the result will be any different when they meet tonight.

After that, however, nothing is so clear cut. David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s, Athy) was one of the stars of last year’s championships, and he was in superb form again at the recent multi-nations tournament in Ballybunion but a serious challenger for his bantamweight title has emerged in Kevin Fennessy (Clonmel).

Fennessy has been ultra-impressive throughout the championships and his performance against Francis Campbell from Edenderry in the semi-finals last weekend raised a lot of eyebrows, leaving Joyce’s coach, Dominic O’Rourke, admitting they were going to have a real fight on their hands.

David Oliver’s cousin, John Joe Joyce, was after winning a bronze medal at the European junior championships when he picked up a stomach bug at a multi-nations tournament in Russia last year and had to withdraw from the senior championships after winning his first contest.

He, too, was a very impressive gold medallist at the multi-nations tournament in Ballybunion and he has carried that form with him. He will be fancied to beat JP Campbell (Edenderry) in tonight’s lightweight final but it should not be forgotten that Campbell was a quarter-finalist at the world championships in Belfast a few years ago before taking a break. Like Fennessy, he could pose a real threat.

David Joyce’s welterweight title could be in jeopardy. Tonight he faces St Michael’s clubmate, Roy Sheahan, in the final. Sheahan, a former Irish Examiner Junior Sports Star, enjoyed a long unbeaten stretch at underage level but he had difficulty converting that form to senior ranks until last year.

He won medals at multi-nations tournaments in Russia and Albania before making it to the last 16 at the world championships in China. He has been chasing an Irish senior title for five years and this could be his year.

Another long overdue a senior title is Jimmy Moore (St Francis). The Limerick light fly is a former intermediate champion. He took time out, went to Australia, and returned last year to make it to the finals of the senior championships, where he lost out to Conor Ahern, a member of the High Performance Squad.

With Ahern moving up to flyweight, where he will be opposed by TJ Doheny (Portlaoise) tonight, Moore’s chances have been enhanced, although one would have to admit Paddy Barnes (Holy Family, Antrim) will be no pushover. But Moore did what few others could when he went three rounds with a world and European medallist in Ballybunion in November, underscoring a tough character.

Ian Tims (St Matthews, Dublin) has battled his way through the weights to claim the heavyweight title and renews rivalry with Alan Reynolds (St Joseph’s, Sligo) in tonight’s final.