The only two reigning champions in action during the National Senior boxing championships at the National Stadium at the weekend both remained unscathed during the preliminaries. Pat O'Donnell from the Dockers club in Belfast is through to the semi-finals of the featherweight division where he will meet Michael Hobbs from Arklow, while Neil Gough from Waterford is due to meet John Morrissey from the Sunnyside club in Cork.

The semi-finals take place next Friday night.

Another notable participant in the semi-finals is Francie Barrett from Galway who is now domiciled in London. He figured in the most exciting bout of the championships so far on Saturday afternoon. After an all-action five two-minute rounds, Barrett was adjudged to have beaten Pat Colgan from Avona on a score of 24-11 although many ringside observers would have scored it much more closely as Colgan pressed Barrett, who boxed in the Olympic Games in Atlanta with some distinction, all the way, although he was caught with a flurry of blows to the head and body in the fifth round and was given a standing count.

All neutral observers are now hoping for another meeting in the final between Gough and Barrett. Gough is the reigning champion and a bout between these two would certainly be a real crowd-puller for the night of the finals on January 23rd. The semi-finals will be contested next Friday and Saturday.

Still in the competition to defend their titles are Liam Cunningham from Saints in Belfast, O'Donnell at featherweight, Eugene McEneany from Dundalk at lightweight, Gough at welterweight, Michael Roche from Sunnyside in Cork at light middleweight, Brian Magee from Holy Trinity, Belfast, at middleweight, John Kiely from Corpus Christi, Dublin, at heavyweight and Stephen Reynolds from Sligo at super heavyweight.