Barnes and Egan well able to fight their way through

BOXING:THERE IS something about the leanness and toughness of the Irish boxing operation in Beijing which should perhaps make it the template for all future Olympic operations out of our great little sporting nation.

Having come through tough qualifying processes, the five-man team has the right blend of developing prospects and men whose time has come to deliver. Nobody is along for the ride, for the reward of merely being an Olympian, getting the T-shirt and having a tattoo added to the ankle or shoulder.

On the two occasions when Irish fighters have lost there have been tears but no big hugs and pats on the head. The John Joes (Nevin and Joyce) have been asked in no uncertain terms to absorb the lessons of their defeats.

And so there are three left. Darren Sutherland must wait till tomorrow to fight Alfonso Blanco Parra of Venezuela but Paddy Barnes and Kenny Egan both see action today. Barnes, our light flyweight from Belfast, is actually first into the ring in today's afternoon session (night time here in Beijing, midday at home) facing Lukasck Maszczyk of Poland.

Maszczyk is an experienced fighter who actually fought in Ireland as recently as May when he beat Limerick's Jimmy Moore (whom Barnes has beaten in the last two national finals) on points after four rounds in Donegal but he looks to be within the capabilities of the fast-learning Barnes.

The Pole, a baker by trade, exited last year's World Championships in Chicago at an early stage and qualified for Beijing via the qualifying tournament in Italy in late February, where he was well beaten ( 24-3) in the final by the Russian David Ayrapetyan.

Having won well here in his first round bout he made rather heavier weather in his round of 16 fight against Namibia's Uutoni Jafet and was on the canvas in the third round.

Barnes, who at 21 has an enviable ability to think his way through a fight, has the ability to pick his points and stay safe.

The reward for the winner is considerable. As well as being guaranteed a medal the semi-final promises a likely bout against China's Zou Shiming, to whom Barnes lost in the quarter-finals of the world amateur championships in Chicago in 2007.

Zou, a bronze medallist in Athens, is bidding to win China's first ever boxing gold and a bout with the home favourite would be a huge bonus, although the scoring system in Beijing is starting to raise concerns about home favourites.

Two hours or so after Barnes' bout concludes Kenny Egan, a comparative veteran at 26 years of age, steps into the ring in the light heavyweight division.

Egan, as captain of the Irish boxing expedition, has looked good and confident here so far and is expected to have too much for the 32-year-old Brazilian Washington Silva, who has looked quite ordinary in his two bouts so far.

Silva, a first-round casualty in Athens, looked quite one-paced in his two victories so far and there is a quiet confidence in the Irish camp about Egan's prospects.

In terms of some much-needed good news for the overall Irish Olympic campaign Egan looks the best bet to perhaps go even further. One of the few class acts in a moderate light heavy division, the draw has kept him away from the favourites, Dzhakhon Kurbanov of Tajikistan and Yerkubulan Shynaliyev of Kazakstan.

Kurbanov, the Asian Games champion, fights the Kazakstani, a bronze medallist at the world championships in a tasty quarter- final bout at the bottom side of Egan's draw. He has also avoided a possible semi-final clash with the Chinese challenger Xiaping Zhang.

The tournament unfolding at the Workers Gymnasium here in Beijing has been the most controversial yet for the scoring system designed to avoid repeats of the infamous larceny which occurred at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, when American Roy Jones Jr lost a fight he had clearly won to Korea's Park Si-Hun.

Complaints have been loud and aggressive about the amount of punches not registering with the judges (three of five judges must register a hit for it to count as a score) and there have been allegations from the US, France and Britain that most of the mistakes have benefited Chinese fighters.