O’Neill continues Ireland’s impressive start

Kilkenny’s Darren O’Neill made it two from two for the Irish on Day 1 of the European Games Boxing schedule with a unanimous decision points win over Romanian heavyweight Ionut Jitaru.

With a young squad and a tough draw, the team captain led by example with an emphatic victory. At the end of the contest the judges scores read 30-27, 30-26, and 30-24, highlighting the dominance of the Paulstown BC southpaw.

Outsized by most in the division, O’Neill showed he is more than able to mix it in the 91kg class and gave his opponent a standing count in the final round. The nature of this victory will surely have Europe’s heavy’s sitting up to take notice of the former middleweight star.

O’Neill will now face Latvia’s Raitis Sinkevics in the Last 16 on Sunday.