Ireland may be looking at records in the number of silver or gold medals they may win over the next two days in Minsk. But if the European Championships this week mean anything, it is how the excellence of Irish boxers at international level continues to resonate.
A team well-weathered in delivering at every level, the four Irish fighters competing today in the Belarussian capital may trail Russia, which has nine boxers through to the 10 semi-finals. But Billy Walsh and his team have the highest representation from Western Europe with Germany’s count at three and England with two fighters into the last four
Irish fighters come up against two of those nine Russians today. Lightweight Michael Conlan goes in against Ovik Ogannisian and bantamweight John Joe Nevin faces Nikitin Vladmir. Light flyweight Paddy Barnes meets Azerbaijan's Salman Alizida and middleweight Jason Quigley takes on Ukrainian Ievgen Khytrov – a silver medal guaranteed for all of them if they can win.
It’s a tall order for inexperienced Quigley, competing for the first time at this level in senior competition, who faces the current world champion and top seed at the tournament. But the Finn Valley 22-year-old has already secured a future for himself in the ring.
Barnes, ranked sixth in the world, also has a tough opponent in Alizida, who is ranked the world number five. But given his European gold from Moscow in 2011 and his two Olympic bronze medals, the gutsy Belfast man has the ability and experience l to make the final.
Michael Conlan faces an unranked Russian in Ogannisian. Rated three in the current world rankings, the 21-year-old stopped the home fighter on Wednesday, not an easy task. Stylish and now stronger than he was in London last year, Conlan will expect to win today.
John Joe Nevin, who is currently second in the world to Cuban Jorge Alvarez Estrada, will be the world number one when the rankings are changed at the beginning of July, which is an extraordinary achievement.
As his master class in the Olympic semi-final showed, the Mullingar bantamweight, a silver medallist from London last year, is almost untouchable when he is on form with unmatchable movement and speed. He faces an unranked opponent in Nikitin Vladimir.
European Championships semi-finals: 49kg (light flyweight): Paddy Barnes v Salman Alizida (Azerbaijan); 52kg (flyweight); Michael Conlan (Belfast) v Ovik Ogannisian (Russia); 56kg (bantamweight); John Joe Nevin v Nikitin Vladimir (Russia); 75kg (middleweight): Jason Quigley v Ievgen Khytrov (Ukraine)
