Ireland’s Olympic team are due to fly to Italy today for a final training camp before London 2012.
The Irish Olympic team are scheduled to fly out to Italy for their final training camp before London 2012 this afternoon.
Beginning Saturday, Ireland will train and spar with Italy and Azerbaijan and a team from the Ukraine in Assisi.
There could be a number of Olympic dry runs for Paddy Barnes, Michael Conlan, John Joe Nevin and Irish captain Darren O’Neill in Assisi, as the Azzurri and Azerbaijan have boxers qualified in the light-fly, fly, bantam and middleweight classes.
Nevin and Italy’s Vincenzo Picardi are no strangers, as Nevin beat the Italian, who has since dropped down to flyweight, in the World Series of Boxing when his Paris United team met Milano Thunder in 2010.
Former AIBA World champion Dominico Valentino, who has been beaten three times by Ireland’s David Oliver Joyce and Eric Donovan in the last three years, has also qualified for London 2012, along with Olympic and two-time World champion Roberto Cammarelle.
Cammarelle claimed gold at the EU Championships after beating Ireland’s Cathal McMonagle at the National Stadium in Dublin on June 23, 2007.
Roy Sheehan, the late Darren Sutherland and Ken Egan secured a hat-trick of gold medals for Ireland on the same day, while Carl Frampton, along with McMonagle, won silver.
Ireland will leave Assisi for London on July 24th.
Boxing at the London Olympics begins on July 28th in the bantamweight and middleweight classes.
Irish 2012 Olympic squad
49Kg (Light-flyweight) Paddy Barnes (Holy Family BC, Belfast)
52kg (Flyweight) Michael Conlan (St John Bosco BC, Belfast)
56kg (Bantamweight) John Joe Nevin (Cavan BC)
60kg (Lghtweight) Katie Taylor (Bray BC, Wicklow)
69kg (Welterweight) Adam Nolan (Bray BC, Wicklow)
75kg (Middleweight) Darren O’Neill (Paulstown BC, Kilkenny)
Team Manager: Des Donnelly
Coaches: Billy Walsh, Zuar Antia, Pete Taylor
Physio: Conor McCarthy
Strength & Conditioning: John Cleary
Performance Psychologist: Gerry Hussey
Italy Olympic squad
Light-flyweight: Manuel Cappai
Flyweight: Viincenzo Picardi
BantamweightL Vittorio Parrinello
Lightweight: Dominico Valentino
Light-welter: Vincenzo Mangiacapre
Heavyweight: Clemente Russo
Super-heavyweight: Roberto Cammarelle
Azerbaijan Olympic squad
Flyweight: Elvin Mamishzadeh
Bantamweight: Magomed Abdulhamidov
Light-welter: Heybatulla Hajialiyev
Middleweight: Soltan Migitinov
Light-heavy: Vatan Huseynli
Heavyweight: Teymur Mammadov
Suyper-heavy: Magomedrasui Majidov
Female
Middleweight: Elena Vystropova
