BOXING:KENNY EGAN climbs to the mountain top. Up there where the air is rare and only the bravest survive he strikes a Rocky pose and lets loose a handsome, high- wattage grin that lights the valleys below.

It has been a long haul but tomorrow he fights in an Olympic final with every chance of coming away with the gold medal. Once again boxing salvages the Irish Olympic experience.

Egan, the Ireland team's captain and most gnarled warhorse, was the last into the ring yesterday, charged with the task of ending a series of defeats. He did so in style and with economy and with a touch of respect for the lineage which made him.

"I'm just proud to be an Irish boxer today," he said afterwards, "proud of what we have done and hopeful that all this will bring a few young fellas through the doors into boxing clubs to carry it on."

Indeed there is something sweetly typical of the tight-knit Irish fight community in the fact that Egan's coach here in Beijing, Billy Walsh, is not only a close friend and long time room-mate of Michael Carruth, the last Irishman to win gold in the ring, but that Walsh remembers watching that gold-medal fight from Barcelona in Carruth's sitting-room in Drimnagh.

And standing beside him on that fevered morning was Carruth's uncle, the late Noel Humpson, the man who trained Egan from childhood right into the senior ranks.

You pass it on and you pay it forward.

Egan's demolition of the Englishman Tony Jeffries was about the only thing that went precisely as planned on a mixed day for the Irish scrappers in the ring at the Workers' Gymnasium.

Egan, the third and last into the ring, never entertained the notion of settling for a bronze medal to fiddle with on the flight home.

He took an early lead and never relinquished that advantage, doing as much damage to his opponent's system as to his morale with a series of well chosen lefts to the body that jarred the big Sunderland fighter.

The fight thereafter was an exercise in economy and wisdom. Egan threw maybe a dozen to 15 punches and landed 10 of them.

He won the second round by three and the third round by four and tapered off as usual, minimising risk to take the last round by two points.

In tomorrow's final he will fight China's Zhang Xiaoping, who scored a slightly surprising victory over the highly rated Kazakh Yerkebulan Shynaliyev in the other semi-final.

The Workers' Gymnasium was once again rattled by the chants of olé and reference to Athenry and environs made in song by a very large Irish contingent, which included many Olympic athletes now finished their events.

If there was pressure to be felt, Egan missed the point entirely.

"It's a sport at the end of the day," he said when asked about fear. "You just need to get in the ring when the time comes and enjoy it. That's what it's all about. Enjoy the training. Enjoying the fighting. I looked up at the crowd when I came out . . . me brother, all the mates that travelled over here, I could see them all. That was great. I don't get to see them too much day by day. I'm here to do business. They are here to go on the p*** but I'm looking forward to hearing their war stories."

Jeffries threw a large number of punches, very few of which landed.

He caught Egan with one straight right beneath the eye but though the wound seemed to bleed slightly internally, he failed to open a cut or cause any real concern in the Irish camp, which let the game plan unfold as normal.

"I'm not wasting shots," said Egan afterwards. "That's what it is all about here. I throw the right hook sometimes. Sometimes a straight left. They get scores. I don't want to throw a dozen shots to score three or four. Throw four and score four.

"I have seven shots conceded in four bouts since I got here. I'm on my feet all the time, slipping and moving. My range is perfect.

"I'm avoiding the shots but inviting them."

Egan had been content enough to keep matters tight in the first round and restricted himself to exploratory work with a few body shots. In the second, Jeffries opted to step up the aggression and paid the price, suffering a strong volley of counterpunches.

By the end the lead had stretched away remarkably for a man limiting his punches so stringently. Egan has perfected the art of just staying out of reach and Jeffries was frustrated and broken before the end.

Egan celebrated accordingly. He had watched his two compatriots lose their fights earlier in the day. Sutherland, in particular, had mystified him.

"I watched Darren today. He was happy with the bronze. Couldn't understand that but he had his own reasons, I'm sure. Up to himself . He has beaten that guy four times. I won't lecture him. I have a silver but I want more."

So tomorrow will be another day of work in the epic career of Kenny Egan. He has seen Zhang fight in Chicago last year, where he went out early, and on tape here.

The Chinese is a big man, which Egan likes: "A big man makes a big target and all the pressure will be on him."

His routine for fights is settled now. He will weigh in early on the morning. He has kept his diet tight these past weeks and hasn't strayed more than a kilogram over. Then back to the team digs and breakfast with the coaches, when they will talk about Zhang for a few minutes.

They have the BBC in the village so as usual he will chill in front of the television accompanied now by the team psychologist.

"I don't talk boxing. Just talk s***. Just focus on the telly or whatever we are doing step by step. Might sleep for an hour and then. Onto the bus. More s** talk. Same again. Warm up. Then into focus. I warm up two fights before my own fight with Zuar (Antia, technical coach), we do the pads and I work on all the specifics of the opponent. And that's it down and ready. Bandages and in you go."

Bandages on and in you go with most of China and all of Ireland watching you. Another day in the life of Kenny Egan.