Some shocks before the opening bell tolled at this year’s Irish Elite Championships as both Paddy Barnes (flu) and John Joe Nevin (wrist injury) were forced to withdraw.
This will cause a headache for the selectors who would normally nominate the Elite champion for the European Championships later this year.
Defending super-heavyweight Con Sheehan weighed-in on Friday but withdrew with a hand injury.
Olympic, World and European lightweight (60kg) champion Katie Taylor weighed-in at 59.9kg on Friday morning.
Taylor has received a walkover here . This will be the third time that Katie has taken the Irish Elite title – all three without throwing a punch in anger.
Instead the Bray woman meets Poland’s Karolina Graczyk in a special bout on Finals Night at the Elite Championships on February 22nd.
It will be Taylor’s first fight since winning Olympic Gold on 9 August at the ExCeL Centre in London.
