"We must not look too far ahead as the senior championships are the first step on the road to Beijing and no one can afford any slip ups, " said the 24-year-old DCU sports science student.

Sutherland will start the defence of his 75kg crown with a semi-final bout against Portlaoise clubman Edward Healy next Friday night.

Meanwhile, Katie Taylor took less than one minute to dispatch Teresa Lukasov at Gort Boxing club in Galway last Friday night. The world lightweight champion forced the Czech into two standing counts inside the first 50 seconds before the referee stopped the contest.