Sutherland commences bid for first senior title

DARREN SUTHERLAND opens his bid for a first national senior title at the National Stadium tomorrow night when he meets Waterford's Keith Whelan (St Paul's) in the first of the middleweight semi-finals.

The St Saviours man will contest the semi-finals for the third time in his career. His previous appearances resulted in losses to John Duddy, now a successful pro in the US, and Andy Lee, scheduled to have his first professional fight in Detroit in a month's time.

Since then, Sutherland took time out to pursue his studies at DCU but returned last year and quickly found himself filling the middleweight spot on the High Performance squad which had been vacated by Lee.