BALLYMENA welter Steven Donnelly is keeping a close eye on Radzhab Butaev and Andrey Zamkovoy at the Russian Nationals in Samara this week.
Both won two bouts each and are through to Wednesday's welter quarter-finals. They can only meet in the final, in what could be a box-off for Rio 2016. Butaev earned an Olympic quota place through the World Series of Boxing last season, while Zamkovoy earned an Olympic quota place through the AIBA Pro Boxing.
Donnelly finished fourth in the WSB. The top two qualify for Rio. Morocco's Mohammad Rabii won the WSB top spot, but also qualified at the Worlds in Qatar. He must take the Qatar Olympic place. That bumps Donnelly up to third, with Butaev and Parviz Baghirov of Azerbaijan first and second. However, if Zamkovoy outperforms or beats Butaev in Samara, Donnelly could move into the top two.
The Russians say that whoever wins the welter title in Samara is not guaranteed a place at Rio 2016 - that they will make the final decision. However, the winner will have very strong claims. The deadline for national associations to confirm their first batch of boxers for Rio 2016 to the International Boxing Association is December 4. The Russian Nationals finish on Sunday.
So far, Paddy Barnes, Michael Conland and Joe Ward have qualified for Rio 2016 for Ireland.
