Darren O’Neill and Dean Gardiner got Ireland off to a perfect start on day one of the European Elite Championships in Samokov, Bulgaria.
Tipperary super-heavyweight Gardiner hammered out a unanimous decision over Delalic Abdulnaser of Bosnia & Herzegovina, and O’Neill, the Irish captain in Samokov, beat Lithuania’s Tadas Tamasauskos on a split decision in the heavyweight class.
Both Irish elite champions are now through to the last-16 of the tournament.
“Two big performances from Dean and Darren today and we’re delighted to get off to a winning start,” said Irish team manager Peter O’Donnell.
O’Neill’s fellow London 2012 Olympian Adam Nolan will be the only Irish boxer in action tomorrow versus Turkish welterweight Onder Sipal. The Bray BC southpaw and Sipal will be in the ring at 5.00pm (Irish time).
Joe Ward, the 2011 European elite champion, is between the ropes on Sunday, followed by London 2012 bronze medallist and 2013 European silver medallist Michael Conlan, Dean Walsh, O’Neill and Gardiner on Monday.
Myles Casey will not be competing in Samokov as he failed to make the 52kg weight.
The 2015 European Elite Championships is a qualifier for October’s World Elite Championships in Qatar which is a qualifier for Rio 2016.
