TEAM IRELAND WEIGH-IN IN SAMSUN

Ceire Smith (red) will be the first Irish boxer in action today

Ceire Smith (red) will be the first Irish boxer in action today

Please see above attachment for today’s program.

Team Ireland all weighed-in this morning ahead of another crucial day for Irish boxing in international competition at the European Olympic qualifiers in Samsun,Turkey.

Ceire Smith, Katie Taylor, Christina Desmond, Brendan Irvine, David Oliver Joyce and Darren O’Neill are in quarter-final action throughout the day and early evening.

Smith, Taylor, Desmond and Joyce are between the ropes in the afternoon session which begins at 12pm (Irish time), with Smith,Taylor and Desmond on virtually back-to-back in the first five bouts on the program.

Irvine and O’Neill are out in the evening session which begins at 5pm (Irish time).

Irish team manager Joe Hennigan said that all six weighed in perfectly this morning and are in great spirits ahead of today’s tests at the fourth last qualifier for the 31st Olympiad.

The top three men and the top three women in Samsun qualify for Rio 2016.

European Olympic Qualifiers Samsun, Turkey

April 9th

Preliminaries

64kg Dean Walsh (Ireland) beat Erik Agataljan (Czech Republic) 3-0

91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) beat Simen Nysater (Norway) 3-0

April 11th

Last 16

51kg Ceire Smith (Ireland) beat Virginia Barankas (Hungary) 3-0

52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) beat Hamza Touba (Germany) 3-0

64kg Dean Walsh (Ireland) lost to Lorenzo Sotomayor (Azerbaijan) 1-2

60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) beat Martina Schmoranzova (Czech Republic) 3-0

75kg Christina Desmond (Ireland) beat Nouchka Fontijan (Netherlands) 2-0

91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) lost to Mahammadrausl Majidor (Azerbaijan) 0-3

April 12th

Last 16

60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) beat Otar Eranosyan (Georgia)  3-0

75kg Michael O’Reilly (Ireland) lost to Ilari Kijala (Finland) 0-3

91kg Darren O’Neill (Ireland) beat Gabriel Richards (Sweden) TKO1

April 13th

Q/Finals

51kg Ceire Smith (Ireland) v Tetyna Kob (Ukraine)

52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) v Ellie Konki (France)

60kg Katie Taylor (Ireland) v Yvonne Rasmussen (Denmark)

60kg David Oliver Joyce (Ireland) v Vazgen Sufaryants (Belarus)

75kg Christina Desmond (Ireland) v Patra Scatmari (Hungary)

91kg Darren O’Neill (Ireland) v Abdulkadir Abdullayev (Azerbaijan)

Irish squad

Female

51kg Ceire Smith (Cavan)

60kg Katie Taylor (Bray)

75kg Christina Desmond (Fr Horgans)

Male

52kg Brendan Irvine (St Pauls)

60kg David Oliver Joyce (AIBA Pro Boxing)

64kg Dean Walsh (St Joesphs/St Ibars)

75kg Michael O’Reilly (Portlaoise)

91kg Darren O’Neill (Paulstown)

91+kg Dean Gardiner (Clonmel)

Team manager: Joe Hennigan

Coaches: Zaur Antia, Eddie Bolger, John Conlan
Physiotherapist: Julianne Ryan
Sports Psychologist: Gerry Hussey
Doctor: Jim Clover
Performance Analyst: Alan Swanton