Boxing Elite Championships

Defending middleweight champion Darren O'Neill got his 75Kg defence off to a flying start with a second round stoppage of Derry's Conor Coyle in the evening quarter-finals session of the Elite Championships at the National Stadium last night. Coyle took a count in the opening frame of this encounter as O'Neill picked off four points without reply. The Kilkenny southpaw switched his point of attack to the body early in the second and the three-rounder was stopped after Coyle took another count with O'Neill 6-0 ahead. O'Neill will now meet Belfast's Conrad Cummings in the semi-finals after the Holy Trinity man, who had his dad Patrick Cummings and Bernard Dunne's former coach Harry Hawkins in his corner, comprehensively beat Rory O'Donoghue 16-1. O'Donoghue's exit brings Cork's interest in the 2011 Championships to a close.

Elsewhere in the middleweight division, Chris Blaney chalked up a resounding 13-1 win over Andrew Jennings and 2009 European Youth champion Jason Quigley found the target nine times in his win over Luke Keeler. Quigley's repelled numerous Keeler attacks with some slick count-punching, particularly in the second when Keeler upped the tempo after dropping the first 4-0. Quigley extended his advantage to 6-1 by the end of that round and added another three points to his total in the third to earn a 9-2 decision.


Meanwhile, Thomas Roohan, who boxes out of the Ballincarrow BC in Sligo, will meet Ken Egan in next Friday's light-heavyweight semi-finals after registering a 4-2 win over Brian Fitzpatrick of Ballina. The corresponding 81Kg semi-final between David Joyce Joyce and Sean Allen was postponed at the end of the second round because of a malfunction with the computer scoring system. Both men will now meet next Friday night with the winner advancing to face Joe Ward in next Saturday's semi-final.Because of the malfunction in the computer scoring system the seven remaining bouts of tonight's quarter-final session were decided on judges markings. Likewise, defending heavyweight champion Con Sheehan claimed a unanimous 5-0 decision over Tommy McCarthy to move to within two bouts of winning his fourth Irish title in succession.

Stephen Ward, meantime, claimed a majority 3-2 decision over Jimmy Sweeney and 2007 Senior finalist John Sweeney earned a unanimous 5-0 decision over Willie Byrne. Patrick Corcoran advanced on a 5-0 verdict in the last heavyweight clash of the evening versus Niall Kennedy. Super-heavyweights Chris Devaney, Ken Okungbowa and Tommy Sheehan - who lost out by one point to Cathal McMonnagle in the 2010 final - beat Daniel Nevin, Garreth Smith - by the odd point in five - and Sean Turner in the final three bouts of the evening.