TEAM IRELAND wind down their training camp with Lithuania with a test match at the National Stadium in Dublin on Wednesday.
Olympic champion Katie Taylor features in a bout with Irish Elite men’s champion Kurt Walker as Lithuania have no female boxers in their squad. Three-time Olympian Paddy Barnes meets current Irish Elite champion Stephen McKenna. Steven Donnelly is in against current European Elite welter champion Eimantas Stanionis.
Ireland finish their training camp with Lithuania on Wednesday before flying out to their final training camp in Assisi, Italy on Monday before the start of the European Olympic qualifiers in Samsun, Turkey. Boxing begins on April 9 in Samsun. The top three in the 10 weights for males and the top two in the three Olympic weights for women in Samsun qualify for Rio.
Taylor, Christina Desmond, Michaela Walsh, Darren O’Neill, Dean Gardiner, Michael O’Reilly, Dean Walsh, Brendan Irvine and David Oliver Joyce are in line to be selected for Turkey. Donnelly, Barnes, Joe Ward and Michael Conlan have qualified for Rio 2016. The quartet will also take part in the Assisi training camp.
Admission is free for Wednesday’s test match with Lithuania. Boxing begins at 4pm.
NATIONAL STADIUM ROTA
52kg: Paddy Barnes (Holy Family) v Stephen McKenna (Old School), Brendan Irvine (St Paul's) v TJ Waite (Ormeau Rd); 60kg: David Oliver Joyce (St Michael’s, Athy) v Edgaras Skurdelis (Lithuania),
Katie Taylor (Bray) v Kurt Walker (Canal); 64kg: Dean Walsh (St Joesph's/St Ibar's) v Evaldas Petrauskas (Lithuania); 69kg: Steven Donnelly (All Saints') v Evaldas Stanionis (Lithuania); 75kg: Conor Wallace (St Monica's) v Valera Dodeo (Lithuania); 91kg: Kiril Asfansev (Smithfield) v Todas Tamasauskas (Lithuania); 91kg+: Dean Gardiner (Clonmel) v Mantas Valavicius (Lithuania)
