Nevin's 'good year' getting better

Rodney FarryThe year 2011 keeps getting better for Mullingar's double Olympian John Joe Nevin.Following qualification for his second Olympics and subsequently becoming the first Irish boxer to win medals at two world amateur boxing championships, the highly rated bantamweight has been nominated for one of the most prestigious accolades in Irish sport, the RTÉ Sportperson of the Year award.Widely regarded by those in the know as one of Ireland's best hopes for a medal in London 2012, Cavan BC member Nevin told the Westmeath Examiner, that being nominated alongside such sporting luminaries as Leinster and Ireland star Sean O'Brien, Ireland football captain Robbie Keane and fellow boxer Katie Taylor, "shows that I must be doing something right"."2011 has been a very good year for me. Hopefully, next year will be even better. The highlight has been qualifying for the Olympics, but to be the first Irish boxer to win two medals at the world championship is also great, especially when there are so many great Irish boxers like Kenny Egan and Darren O'Neill around," he said.At a time when, domestically and internationally speaking, his sport has never been stronger, Nevin has established himself as one of the finest Irish boxers of his generation in the last year.In addition to his heroics at the world boxing championships in Baku, Azerbaijan in October, he added another entry to his impressive sporting CV when he was part of the Paris United team that won the inaugural World Series of Boxing (WSB) championship.Nevin, who received a Texaco Sportstar of the Year award last week, is currently preparing for his first bout in this year's WSB championship, in Germany next week.While he has made his name as a bantamweight and will be fighting in that division in the Olympics, he is competing in the 61kg weight division in this year's WSB competition.