Nevin on verge of medal

Irish bantamweight John Joe Nevin is just one more win from a guaranteed Olympic medal after a 15-10 win over Kanat Abutalipov.

Nevin insists he can still improve

Irish bantamweight John Joe Nevin is just one more win from a guaranteed Olympic medal after a 15-10 win over Kanat Abutalipov. The 23-year-old's slick, back-foot boxing saw him build on a three-point lead at the end of the first round but he incurred the wrath of the referee, who twice gave him a ticking-off for retreating as the desperate Kazakh gave chase. Nevin acknowledged he can still make plenty of improvements ahead of his next clash with Mexico's Oscar Valdez on Sunday evening, but admitted inconsistency in his year building up to the Games made his dream of an Olympic medal still far from certain. He said: "I was nearly beaten in the senior semi-final (by Sean McComb) because of a bad performance and when I was beaten twice in France I was talking to (coach Billy) Walsh about whether I should go to the Olympics. "On a good performance I can go all the way but on a bad performance anyone can beat me. Now I'm one fight away from being in the semi-final and it shows you what I can change if I think about how I can go out to perform."