Not as loud this time, but Irish still out in force for boxing trio

The crowds and the noise level may not have rattled the Richter scale to the same extent as Katie’s gold medal moment, but the Irish were again out in force in the ExCel arena yesterday afternoon.

They were there to cheer on two boxers in lunchtime semi-final action, with Paddy Barnes cruelly denied an Olympic final berth after losing on countback to China’s defending champion Zou Shiming in the light-flyweight division. It means the Belfast man will collect bronze for the second consecutive Olympic Games.

But there was better to come with John Joe Nevin hugely impressive in defeating Cuba’s top man Lázaro Álvarez Estrada 19-14 in their bantam-weight clash. The win, which featured a little Ali shuffle in the third round, sets up a final against Britain’s Luke Campbell.