SUTHERLAND TURNS PRO:IRISH AMATEUR boxing has lost another top-rated fighter to the professional ranks. Olympic bronze medallist Darren Sutherland yesterday agreed a three-year contract with the England-based manager and promoter Frank Maloney.
The 26-year-old will make his debut in Dublin on December 18th in Dublin City University, where he is studying sports science. The Dubliner will campaign as a super-middleweight and his fights will be exclusively televised live by Sky Sports.
Sutherland may be followed into the professional game by Ken Egan, who won a silver medal this year in Beijing, although the light heavyweight, also from Dublin, has not yet made a final decision.
Middleweight Andy Lee was the last high-profile amateur to sign professional papers after turning down the most lucrative deal offered to an athlete by the Irish Sports Council. Lee is now based in Detroit under the care of legendary trainer Emanuel Steward.
Sutherland, whose father is from the Caribbean, won two fights at the Olympics. After a first-round walk-over, he outpointed Algeria's Nabil Kassel and Venezuelan Alfonso Blanco before losing to eventual middleweight winner James DeGale in the semi-final.
"From the minute I watched Darren in the Olympics he was the only fighter I wanted to sign," said Maloney yesterday. "I believe he will become my fifth world champion following in the path of Lennox Lewis, Paul Ingle, Scott Harrison and David Haye. On a personal level, I haven't felt this excited since the day Lennox Lewis signed with me in April 1989."
Sutherland is expected to work with several British and American trainers before deciding who to team up with.
Maloney expects to announce the Irishman's first professional opponent next month.
SUTHERLAND FACTS
Born:March 18th, 1982
Birthplace:Dublin
Stance:Orthodox
Amateur club:St Saviour's ABC
Amateur honours:2008 Irish Olympian - bronze medallist; gold medallist in European Olympic Qualifier, Greece; Irish national senior champion
