Ward & Egan ready for Stadium battle

Ken Egan will be seeking to become the first Irish boxer in the 101 history of the IABA to claim eleven Elite titles when he goes toe-to-toe with reigning champion Joe Ward at the Irish Daily Star sponsored 2012 Elite Championships finals at Dublin's National Stadium on Friday evening.

Egan, who alongside Jim O'Sullivan has won ten Elite titles, missed out on a chance of winning eleven in a row last year but lost out to Ward, the current European champion, in an incident-packed light-heavyweight final.

Ward will once again be standing in the Olympic medallist’s way in a repeat of last year’s "battle of the southpaws".

Moate BC’s Ward lost out to Iranian Eshan Rouzbahani on a countback at the 2011 AIBA World Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, a shock defeat that cost him a place at the London Olympics.

The 2009 AIBA World Junior and 2010 AIBA World Youth champion beat Davey Joe Joyce to make Friday's final, while Egan was 17-4 ahead when his semi-final with Eamon Walsh was stopped in his favour in the second, after Walsh, who had taken two standing counts, suffered a facial injury.

Looking ahead to the most anticipated bout of the night, current champion Ward said: "I still have the big shots. You don't lose that. If I perform at 100% I'm in with a shout.”

Tommy McCarthy, who faces Christy Joyce in the heavyweight final, reckons the Ward-Egan bout will go right down to the final bell.

McCarthy, who was beaten by Egan in the 2009 and 2010 light-heavyweight finals, said: "I think it could be very, very close again. There might be just a point or two in it because both guys are so talented.

“I'm not surprised that Kenny has gone back down to 81Kg because he is much more comfortable there and when I saw him box at the Olympic test event in London he was unbelievable.

"As far as I'm concerned, finals night is the first Olympic qualifier for me. I just have to win this or forget about London. This is my third Irish final and I'm desperate to get my hands on the title and I feel very confident because I have prepared so well.

“This guy (Christy Joyce) is tall and I can't take anything for granted. I'll be going out all guns blazing."

London 2012 Olympians Michael Conlan, John Joe Nevin, who is aiming for a fifth successive bantamweight belt, and Darren O'Neill, are in possession of the Irish flyweight, bantamweight and middleweight belts.

Conlan goes three frames with Chris Phelan on Friday, while Nevin is in against Michael Nevin and O'Neill trades leather with Derry stand out Conor Coyle.

To a certain extent, the extra ingredient has been taken out of these three finals by the fact that all three defending champions have qualified for the 30th Olympiad. However, the London-bound trio will be eager to stay ahead of the posse in their respective divisions.

Equally, however, Phelan, Michael Nevin and Coyle will be just as eager to add the scalps of an Irish Olympian to their expanding CVs.

Belfast dynamo Paddy Barnes returns to the home of Irish boxing just three, three-minute rounds away from winning six on the trot. The Belfast light-flyweight, a gold medal winner at the 2010 European Championships at the Ice Palace in Moscow, meets Hugh Myres, who secured an impressive semi-final victory over Evan Metcalfe last weekend.

Four of the twenty-four contestants at the Elite Championships finals can join the "High Five Club" if they emerge victorious at the Stadium.

St Michael's Athy team-mates David Oliver Joyce and John Joe Joyce, Con Sheehan and John Joe Nevin all go into the weekend's deciders with four Elite titles apiece.

David Oliver Joyce is in against Michael McDonagh in a repeat of the 2011 final, which McDonagh won, while Sheehan, who retained the heavyweight belt in 2011, but who has since moved up a notch to super-heavyweight, will be aiming for his fifth belt in a row versus Sean Turner.

Ross Hickey claimed the light-welterweight title and the boxer of the tournament award at the 2011 Championships and is being tipped to retain his belt against Bray BC prospect Stephen Coughlan.

But the stylish Grangecon BC ace, a bronze medal winner at the 2008 European Championships in Liverpool, is not in the business of taking things for granted, particularly against an opponent who is trained by Katie Taylor's coach and father Pete Taylor.

Hickey said: "I am focused on the title now. I will look at the Olympic qualification and think about that after. The main thing for me this week is to retain my Irish title.

"I look at this fight as I have the last two. I am boxing against a lad who is trying to take my title away. I know Stephen is hungry for this. I know him well and he is improving all the time.

"He will be eager to be the champion. I had two tough fights ahead of the final. Sutcliffe and Murray are two strong boys and I am just happy to be in the final."

Defending welterweight champion Adam Nolan, a team-mate of Coughlan's at the Bray BC, meets Beijing Olympian and 2008 European bronze medallist John Joe Joyce.

Joyce, nicknamed Triple J, beat his St Michael's Athy team-mate Roy Sheahan to book his ticket into the business end of the 69Kg class, while Nolan, a Garda, registered a solid win over the experienced Willie McLaughlin in the last-four.

AIBA World Youth bronze medallist Michaela Walsh and Dervla Duffy contest the women's featherweight final over four-two minute rounds, while Lynne McEnery and Oliwia Samsanov go head-to-head in Friday's curtain raiser at light-flyweight.

The male boxers competing in Friday's finals have amassed an amazing 40 Irish Elite titles between them since Ken Egan first finished on top of the podium at the expense of Conor Carmichael at the 2001 Elite Championships.

"It's hard to believe - twelve seasons gone in the blink of an eye," said Egan, who claimed his first two titles at middleweight before winning eight on the bounce at light-heavyweight.

O'Neill (3rd), Ward (3rd), Nevin (4th), Barnes (8th) and Conlan (14th) go into Friday's finals officially ranked in the top 15 in the World by AIBA.

The final Olympic qualifier for European male boxers will take place in Trabzon, Turkey from 13-22 April.

The Irish Amateur Boxing Association will ratify their squad for the Turkish qualifiers after Friday's finals.