O’Neill’s farewell to “biggest competition on earth”

Darren O’Neill became the first Irish boxer to exit the Olympicsyesterday but he did so with his head held high after a 19-12 loss to the young German middleweight Stefan Hartel.

The Paulstown southpaw will look back on the contest with disappointment, if not regret, because he never got anything going. He was flat in the first round, unable to break down the German’s defence while getting caught with a slick backhand, and found himself 6-4 behind.

The second round went along similar lines but, in a bid to nail his man, O’Neill threw caution to the wind and ended up 14-8 behind going into the final round, which he lost 5-4.