All three Irish boxers in action on the opening day at the 73rd International Strandja tournament in Sofia, Bulgaria were eliminated after their preliminary round fights.

Reigning European Under-22 champion Dean Clancy was the first of the Team Ireland contingent in the ring but lost 5-0 to Abdal Serik of Kazakhstan on the judges' cards in their light welterweight bout.

Eugene McKeever also endured defeat in the evening session as he lost his welterweight encounter with France's Hugo Grau by unanimous decision.

Super heavyweight Thomas Maughan lost the final bout of the evening to Lithuania's Jonas Jazvicius 5-0.

The tournament will see more Irish fighters in action this week with Olympic champion Kellie Harrington fighting on Tuesday in the women's lightweight competition - her first since the Tokyo 2020 final.

Michaele Walsh (W57kg) and Aoife O'Rourke (W75kg) are also part of the 14-strong Irish squad in Bulgaria, opening their tournaments on Monday and Tuesday respectively.