IABA UPDATE (EGAN, CUMMINGS AND SHEEHAN INTO FINALS AT OLYMPIC TEST EVENT)

IRISH BOXING ASSOCIATION

Ken Egan, Conrad Cummings and Con Sheehan advanced to Sunday’s finals at the Olympic Test Event following wins at the ExCel in London tonight.

Dublin southpaw Egan beat Australia’s Damien Hooper, the 2010 Olympic Youth champion who is officially ranked number two in the world by AIBA, 15-11 to record his second win at the ExCel in 48 hours.

The 2008 Olympic silver medalist will now meet Yamaguchi Florentino of Brazil, a silver medal winner at the 2011 Pan American Games, in Sunday’s light-heavyweight final.

Belfast middleweight Cummings produced a fine performance to see off Brazilian Esquiva Florentino 19-13 and set up a 75Kg decider with Maxim Koptyakov of Russia.

Florentino – who’d received a number of cautions – was given a public warning for dropping his head in the third round of tonight’s clash. Cummings, who boxes out of the Holy Trinity club, was 13-10 in front going into the final round of a hard-punching duel.

Tipperary super-heavyweight Sheehan, meanwhile, will meet Evgnios Lazaridis of Greece tomorrow following his 11-7 decision over Mohammad Arjaoui of Morocco.

The Clonmel BC stand out took the first round 3-2 and led 6-5 going into the third and final stanza.

David Oliver Joyce and Tommy McCarthy bowed out at the semi-final stage tonight.

Joyce lost 13-9 to Eugen Burhard of Germany in the lightweight semi-final.

Burhard, who 9-3 ahead going into the final frame, took two standing counts in the third as the St Michael’s Athy man finished the stronger. The first round ended 2-2.

McCarthy dropped a 16-9 decision to experienced Kazakh heavyweight Vassily Levit. The Belfast man found himself 5-3 in arrears at the end of the first but turned in a good second round to reduce the deficit to 9-7.

However, Levit found the target seven times in the last round to secure his place in Sunday’s 91Kg final.

Sunday’s program begins at 10.30am. The women’s finals will be decided first.

Olympic Test Event ExCel London

November 24th Quarter-finals
81Kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) beat Xuan Bao (China) 13-6

November 25th Quarter-finals
51Kg: Declan Geraghty (Ireland) lost to Worapoj Petchkoom (Thailand) 12-13
60Kg: David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Donato Consenza (Italy) 12-8

November 26th Semi-Finals
60kg: David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) lost to Eugen Burhard (Germany) 9-13
75Kg: Conrad Cummings (Ireland) beat Esquiva Florentino (Brazil) 19-13
81Kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) beat Damien Hooper (Australia) 15-11
91Kg: Tommy McCarthy (Ireland) lost to Vassily Levit (Kazakhstan) 9-16
91Kg+: Con Sheehan (Ireland) beat Mohammad Arjaoui (Morocco) 11-7

November 27th Finals
75Kg: Conrad Cummings (Ireland) v Makim Koptyakov (Russia)
81Kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) v Yamatguchi Florentino (Brazil)
91Kg+: Con Sheehan (Ireland) v Evgnios Lazaridis (Greece)

Irish squad

56Kg: Declan Geraghty (Crumlin)
60Kg: David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s Athy)
75Kg: Conrad Cummings (Holy Trinity)
81Kg; Ken Egan (Neilstown)
91Kg: Tommy McCarthy (Oliver Plunkett)
91+Kg: Con Sheehan (Clonmel)

Team manager: Des Donnelly
Coaches: Billy Walsh & Zuar Antia
Physio: Conor McCarthy