BOXING EUROPEAN SENIOR CHAMPIONSHIPS:EUROPEAN boxing chiefs yesterday dismissed a protest by Azat Hovhannisyan of Armenia following his defeat to Donegal featherweight Tyrone McCullagh in the quarter-finals of the European Senior Championships in Moscow on Tuesday.

Hovhannisyan was throwing a high volume of ordinance in the last eight decider, but it was McCullagh’s cleaner shots that caught the eye of the five ringside judges to secure a well-deserved 6-3 verdict at the Ice Palace.

Armenia lodged a protest following the loss, based on the referring and judging. However, Belfast native Pat McCrory, the secretary of the AIBA’s referees and judges commission, confirmed that the protest was dismissed on a “unanimous decision”.

McCullagh, Ken Egan, Paddy Barnes, Eric Donovan and Darren O’Neill will be involved in semi-final bouts in the Russian capital from 9am (Irish time). All five are already guaranteed bronze medals, but Dominic O’Rourke, the president of the IABA, is expressing quite confidence that Ireland will be represented in Saturday’s finals.

“Tyrone (McCullagh) was quite clearly landing the cleaner punches in his quarter-final with the Armenian lad and it was a fantastic win.

“Tyrone has a piston-like left jab. He’s very precise with his left jab and he rarely misses,” said O’Rourke.

“The lads have been boxing incredibly well out here this week and five medals is a fantastic achievement by any standard. There’s more to come from this Irish team and they are right in there with a shout of making Saturday’s finals now.”

Ken Egan will renew acquaintances with Abedelkader Bouhenia today. The French light-heavyweight caused one of the shocks of the 2009 World Championships when he beat Egan in the quarter- finals in Milan – denying the Dubliner the only medal he doesn’t have in his collection.

Kilkenny middleweight Darren O’Neill faces Bulgarian Mladen Manev and Eric Donovan trades leather with Russian 2007 World featherweight champ Albert Selimov. Paddy Barnes meets Jose de la Nieve Linares, Spain’s only boxer at the Beijing Olympics where Barnes won bronze.

Meanwhile, Irish head coach Billy Walsh, who is working Ireland’s corner with Zuar Antia and Jimmy Halpin in Moscow, said that the Irish squad were dedicating their wins to the memory of Darren Sutherland.

The 2010 European Senior Championships represents the first time the Irish 2008 Olympic team of Egan, Barnes, John Joe Joyce and John Joe Nevin have been in competitive action together since the Beijing Olympiad.

Sutherland, who tragically died last year in London, was part of the five-man Irish Beijing team. The three-times Irish senior champ famously won a bronze medal for Ireland at the Games before turning professional.

Walsh said: “The Irish squad have dedicated their wins in Moscow to the memory of the late Darren Sutherland. He was an integral part of this team and we will never forget the outstanding contribution he made to Irish boxing.” Semi-finals: (12 noon Moscow time)

48kg: Paddy Barnes (Ireland) v Jose de la Nieve Linares (Spain) 57Kg: Tyrone McCullagh (Ireland) v Ian Weaver (England) 60kg: Eric Donovan (Ireland) v Albert Selimov (Russia) 75kg: Darren O’Neill (Ireland) v Mladen Manev (Bulgaria)

81kg: Ken Egan (Ireland) v Abedelkader Bouhenia (France)