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How Irish boxers have fared against Sweden

Ireland kick off their 2016 European Championships campaign this evening at the Stade de France in Paris against Sweden.

With so much at stake in the first game, it promises to be, a typically Irish, nail-biting encounter.

To get you warmed up for the match we have looked back through the archives at the record of Irish boxers against Swedish opposition, and it’s been a bit of a mixed bag.

Perhaps most encouragingly, former international soccer player Katie Taylor last year comprehensively defeated Sweden’s Ida Lundblad to guarantee a bronze medal at the inaugural European Games in Baku.

While not against Swedish opposition, one of Ireland’s most famous medal wins came on Swedish soil when Paul Griffin won European gold in Gothenburg back in 1991.

The Scandanavians did get one over on Ireland in 1947 at the European Championships which were hosted at the National Stadium in Dublin. While Eddie Cantwell defeated Sten Ahneloev in the preliminary rounds, the Swedes claimed the last laugh on finals night when Kurt Krueger defeated Peter Maguire to claim featherweight gold.

And finally, there was disappointment last month for Crumlin’s Phil Sutcliffe Jr who narrowly lost out on a majority decision to Swedish star Anthony Yigit in Germany. The Dublin light welterweight took the bout at short notice and gave the 2012 Olympian and European #2 all he could handle, and certainly has a bright future at the top level of the sport.

Joe O'Neill

Reporting on Irish boxing the past five years. Work has appeared on irish-boxing.com, Boxing News, the42.ie, and local and national media. Provide live ringside updates, occasional interviews, and special features on the future of Irish boxing. email: joneill6@tcd.ie

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