BOXING:BOXING KEEPS throwing up good stories and Sutherland's is as good as they come. Son of a Caribbean dad and a Finglas mother, he skedaddled to Sheffield and Brendan Ingle's gym at the age of 15, hoping to join the professional circus.

He came home disillusioned four years later, but, showing remarkable strength of character, he went back to school at 21, sat his Leaving Cert and went to college.

Before his fight with Blanco in the quarter-finals, the Irish camp promised Sutherland would be more intense than ever. His first-round bout, which the referee stopped, had been a blizzard of punches. The Irish were bluffing, however. Sutherland came out and delivered a controlled and scientific boxing lesson to Blanco, who had beaten him in Chicago last October. The Venezuelan had come expecting a brawl and, having gone behind early on, couldn't reverse out of the tactic. Sutherland picked him off punch by punch with his defence high and sturdy always.

It's likely he will need something similar today. James DeGale makes no secret of the fact that in the past he has made the same mistake as Blanco did and promises that today he will dance and pick his shots.

Billy Walsh, the Irish head coach, points out, though, that that is a tactic which DeGale has tried with Sutherland before also without success.

In Olympic boxing, where it is hard to register a score on the notorious computer system, the guy who takes the early lead generally has the advantage. Both men will emphasise defence early on and wait for the opening.

If Sutherland can pick off a few early scores and force DeGale into coming after him, he could be heading off into the professional ranks with a silver or gold circle on his CV.

"I'm never in a dull fight."

- Tom Humphries