Jon McConnell sets European target after Commonwealth boxing gold
The Belfast 70kg champion will join a 14-strong Team Ireland squad in Sofia, with the championships also serving as preparation for 2028 Olympic qualification.
Jon McConnell will attempt to turn Commonwealth success into a stronger European campaign when the European Elite Championships begin in Sofia, Bulgaria, on Thursday.
The 23-year-old Belfast boxer won the 70kg title in Glasgow, securing Team NI’s only boxing gold at the Commonwealth Games. He now hopes to replicate heptathlete Kate O’Connor’s reported progression from Commonwealth champion to European gold medallist.
McConnell told BBC Sport NI that O’Connor’s achievement was an inspiration. He said the Commonwealth victory had given him “a taste for more” and that the European tournament offered a chance to establish himself before the next stage of Olympic qualification.
The championships form part of the build-up to qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, which the report says begins next year with the World Championships and European Games. McConnell said he wanted to “put a marker down” in Sofia while continuing to approach the tournament one fight and round at a time.
He is part of a 14-strong Team Ireland squad. The group includes Kellie McLoughlin at women’s lightweight after two-time Olympic champion Kellie Harrington withdrew with a hand injury, according to the report.
Interim head coach Damian Kennedy said Irish male boxers were progressing and could be ready to break through. Ireland won two gold and two bronze medals at the 2024 European Championships, all in women’s events, while Gabriel Dossen won European gold and Dylan Eagleson silver in Yerevan in 2022.
