On a night when Katie Taylor began a comeback she hopes will end in a second consecutive Olympic gold medal in 2016, another Irish boxing hero called time on his illustrious career.
Ken Egan, who won silver in the light-heavyweight division in Beijing and has 10 national titles to his name, conceded his career was over after his loss to Joe Ward at the National Stadium in Dublin.
The ovation afforded Egan, who announced his retirement in the ring, equalled the acclaim which greeted Taylor, whose first bout since her historic Olympic triumph saw a 28-5 win over Karolina Graczyk of Poland.
Popular 31-year-old Egan was bidding to become Ireland's first 11-time national champion, but was undone by the irresistible force of Ward, the reigning European champion who is 13 years Egan's junior.
Egan admitted: "This day was always going to be come but I thought it was a fitting occasion to announce it. I don't think I can go any further with the talent we have got in the wings.
"I am glad to hand the baton over to a fighter like Joe Ward. He is an exceptional talent and improving all the time. I thought I'd test him this year but he's getting better and it's brilliant to see."
Egan's silver medal in Beijing made him a star but the perils of fame led him to fight off a series of addiction problems as well as the rise of Ward, which denied him a chance of going to the London 2012 Games.
