RIO 2016 SCHEDULE

Paddy Barnes (blue)

Paddy Barnes (blue)

Paddy Barnes, David Oliver Joyce and Joe Ward could be in action on Day 1 of the Olympic Games in Rio in August.

Barnes’, Joyce’s and Ward’s light-fly, light and light-heavy classes are in action on August 6, the opening day of the boxing event at the 31st Olympiad.

Click here for Rio 2016 boxing schedule.

Women’s boxing begins on August 12, with four bouts slated for decision in Katie Taylor’s lightweight class.

Eight Irish boxers have qualified for Rio so far.

Ray Moylette will be aiming to improve that number to nine over the line at the final Rio qualifiers which begin in Vargas, Venezuela on Sunday (exact day to be confirmed).

The Mayo light-welter and his Irish and club (St Anne’s BC) coaches Eddie Bolger and Martin Brennan left for Venezuela early this morning for the last throw of the Rio dice for Irish and international boxing.

A top three finish is required to book a Rio ticket in the light-welter class at the Latin American qualifiers which are ostensibly a World Series of Boxing (WSB) versus AIBA Pro Boxing (APB) tournament but which are also open to pro boxers. Moylette is eligibe through APB.

Irish boxing – except for the 1936 Games in Berlin – has been represented at every Olympiad since Ireland first entered the Olympics as an independent nation at Paris 1924.

Irish Rio 2016 Squad

49kg Paddy Barnes (Holy Family)

52kg Brendan Irvine (St Paul’s Antrim)
56kg Michael Conlan (Clonard)
60kg Katie Taylor (Bray)
60kg David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s Athy & AIBA Pro Boxing)
64kg ?
69kg Steven Donnelly (All Saints)
75kg Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise)
81kg Joe Ward (Moate & AIBA Pro Boxing)
 (B)