BEIJING OLYMPICS BOXING:KENNY EGAN is putting the Zen into the art of Irish boxing. The fight is a jigsaw. The head is the biggest piece. Each punch is an extension of the mind. Everything is perfect.

If he can maintain his Zen into next Tuesday's light heavyweight quarter-final against the 32-year-old Brazilian Washington Silva, then Egan is guaranteed an Olympic bronze medal. If he can maintain it after that anything is possible. Egan is 26 and fighting in his first Olympics and hasn't put a foot wrong so far.

Yesterday he fought Bahram Muzaffer of Turkey, who boldly claimed he was the best fighter in the division. Those kinds of statements can be risky unless backed up. After Egan beat him up fairly handily 10-2, he changed his tone.

"I came here in trouble because my elbow was injured," said Muzaffer. "This was not a good fight for me."

Truth is Egan handed him another lesson in how to out-smart and out-fight your opponent. The only uncertainly surrounding the result was some of the scoring. It wasn't always clear why the points were being awarded the way they were, but Egan had expected this. The judges clearly favour the combination of punches, more than the single hits.

"I've been watching the fighting here all week, on my own, sitting in my apartment," he said. "There are an awful lot of backhands, straight backhands, scores to the head. That's what is scoring all the time. Probably the odd right hook. The body shot scores are very rare, unless it's a good, clean hard straight backhand to the body. And I don't really throw a lot of them. You could be throwing left hands all night and get no score.

"It was a cagey enough start. Nerves probably, settling in the first round. Once I got the lead, and his distance, I was happy enough with that, to build on the lead, like I always do, and make him miss. Hit him with a few hard body shots as well. He was totalled in the fourth round. Didn't want to know at all. So I'm happy with the performance."

So it leaves the popular Dubliner and Irish boxing captain one win away from a medal. It goes without saying there is no one in Irish boxing right now more deserving of an Olympic medal than Egan - but that's not part of his Zen.

"Well, I'm just going to treat it as another fight. I know there's pressure to get medals and all that. But the whole idea coming out here was to perform. I've two good fights under the belt now, and happy I can come out and give it 100 per cent again. Whatever the outcome, is what it is.

"I'm the captain, though. The whole idea is the lead the team into battle. The first one onto the field, and the last one off it. This is what it's all about. All the training, in the gym six days a week, all for this eight minutes in the ring. If we go out and give a bad performance, people say we must be doing something wrong. But it's all on the day. We've seen three world champions beaten here already.

"All the hard training is important, the diet, all of that. It's like a big jigsaw. But the biggest piece is the head. Upstairs. If you're right in the head, you're laughing. And everything is perfect. It's the best boxing tournament I've been at. It's been unreal. The organisation, accommodation, everything is perfect."

For team coach Billy Walsh, the lesson on the points-scoring of the five referees was timely. Egan will need to maximise his backhands against the Brazilian. "The second round I was a bit disappointed," said Walsh. "He hit him with maybe five clean shots, and never got any of them. That's a worrying factor. It has to be. If you're scoring, and not getting it, there's always a greater chance of being overturned. Kenny landed some very clear punches that I think the whole stadium saw, except the five judges sitting around the ring.

"That could break a fella's heart, his morale. The stakes are getting higher all the time as well. But he's fought this Brazilian guy before. We have a good idea what to expect."

Egan fought Silva three years ago, just prior to the World Championships in Mianyang, China. The Irish team were training in the Philippines, and as part of an exhibition in a shopping centre, Egan went up against the Brazilian and beat him handy. "That was a long time ago," noted Egan. "I mean I can't even remember what I had for breakfast this morning. This whole boxing thing has gone to my head. But no, he's not a bad lad.

"I'll look at the tape, and do some homework on him. But he's the man that has to beat me. I don't have to beat him. He's got to come out and beat me. That's the way I'm looking at it."

Another Zen-like thought to end the day.