Top Irish Amateurs In Competition At National Elite Championships

London 2012 bronze medallists Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan will be in action at the National Elite Championships semi-finals at the National Stadium in Dublin this weekend.

Twenty six last-four contests will be decided at the South Circular Road venue on Friday and Saturday.

Barnes, who fought at flyweight at the 2013 AIBA World Elite Championships in Kazakhstan but who has now dropped back down to light-fly, the limit he won two Olympic bronze medals at, meets Blaine Dobbins on Friday.

Hughie Myers, who claimed the 2013 vacant light-flyweight title after Barnes, who beat Myers in the 2012 final, withdrew with an illness, is in against Thomas Waites.

Conlan, meantime, faces Cork’s Barry Walsh. The winner will cross swords with either Kurt Walker or Tyrone McCullagh in the bantamweight final on March 7 live on TG4.

Conlan, who is ranked No. 2 in the world at bantamweight, claimed the flyweight title last year but has since moved up to bantamweight.

Ray Moylette, a gold medal winner at the 2011 European Elite Championships and Michael Nevin of the Portlaoise BC go head-to-head at light welter.

Lynn McEnery and Maeve Clarke gets proceedings underway on Friday. Thirteen semi-finals will be decided on the night, followed by a further 13 semi-finals on Saturday evening.

Boxing begins at 7pm on both nights. The weigh-ins will be held between 8am and 9am each day at the National Stadium.

The 2014 Men’s and Women’s Elite Championships finals will be decided on March 7 and 8.

Tickets are now on sale from the National Stadium office for both finals nights. Phone Sally on (01) 454 3525