Austin Carruth, father of Olympic gold medallist Michael, has amusingly suggested that grants paid to Ireland's top boxers by the Irish Sports Council (ISC) could lead to a situation where professional boxers may wish to turn amateur.

Carruth's quip came after the Irish Amateur Boxing Association (IABA) central council meeting on Saturday during which delegates learned of the ISC grants, which are more than double anything on offer previously. The grants amount to £98,000 and cover boxers in categories ranging from world class one to the junior aspirants.

A letter drawn up by the IABA for the attention of the council noted some illogical aspects of the grant. However it was largely agreed that the grants represent "a major breakthrough". A boxer in the world class 1 bracket will merit £24,000 with the scale in five categories going down to £1,200 for the juniors.

Meanwhile, the national intermediate boxing championships have been given an additional session. There will be two evenings of semi-finals on December 11th and 12th. The championships start on December 4th and 5th, with the finals on December 18th.