Ray Moylette opens his bid to qualify for Rio 2016 in Vargas, Venezuela, tonight when he takes on Armenian light-welterweight Hovhannes Backrov.
Moylette faces Backrov in the last eight of the Olympic qualifying event at 9:30pm, with the top three light-welterweights booking Rio tickets.
Irish coach Eddie Bolger and Moylette’s club coach at the St Anne’s BC in Mayo, Martin Brennan, are working Ireland’s corner in Vargas.
"We have drawn a tough opponent and we do know him quite well, said Bolger. He (Backrov) had a good run in Doha (World Championships) and a good run in Samsun, losing the box off.
"This is what you come expect in Olympic qualifiers and especially when the weight is not seeded. This will be a cracking bout and Ray will take this opportunity with both hands and is looking forward to it with justified confidence.”
Eight Irish boxers - Katie Taylor, Paddy Barnes, Brendan Irvine, Michael Conlan, David Oliver Joyce, Steven Donnelly, Michael O’Reilly and Joe Ward - have qualified for Rio 2016 so far.
Team Ireland depart for Rio on 19 July. If Moylette wins two fights in Venezuela, then nine Irish boxers will be on the plane to the 31st Olympiad.
Ostensibly a World Series of Boxing (WSB) versus AIBA Pro Boxing (AIBA) event, Vargas is also open to professional boxers.
Puerto Rican Elite amateur middleweight Raul Sanchez dropped Serbian pro fighter Geard Ajetovic twice en route to victory in the opening day of the tournament yesterday.
