Sutherland left to fly the flag after Athy pair lose

DARREN SUTHERLAND was left shouldering Ireland’s hopes at the world boxing championships in China last night after the defeats of featherweight Eric Donovan and welterweight Roy Sheehan.

Donovan lost 40-25 to Simion Viorel of Romania in his bid for a place in the quarter-finals, while his club-mate Roy Sheehan was edged out on count-back after both boxers were tied at 21 points apiece at the end of a contest that was spoiled by the referee who issued 12 cautions.

That leaves Navan-based middleweight Sutherland flying the tri-colour in a difficult quarter-final today (11am Irish time) against second-ranked Russian Matvey Korobov with the incentive of a medal and a semi-final berth tomorrow on offer.