IRELAND'S five boxers in the Beijing Olympics in August will make up our biggest team since Barcelona 16 years ago when our six-man side returned with a gold medal from Dublin welter Michael Carruth and a silver from Belfast bantam Wayne McCullough.

Eight weeks before the start of the games, the qualifiers will travel to Poland to compete in the European Union Championships, one of the most prestigious events in the boxing calendar, with two Olympic-bound Dublin boxers defending their titles -- St Saviours middleweight Darren Sutherland and Neilstown lightheavyweight Kenneth Egan.

There is a view within the boxing community, however, that the Olympic squad should give the EUs in June a miss to minimise the risk of injury and to avoid any possible confidence-damaging defeats. But last night, the Irish Amateur Boxing Association dismissed any fears and felt it was of no great concern.

"I don't see any problems," said president Dominic O'Rourke. "You must remember our boys are the best in the world, the tops, and they have proven that they can handle themselves well. They also need the competition before the Olympics.

"Paddy Barnes, our lightfly on the Olympic team, for example, hasn't been in action since November so he certainly needs to box before Beijing. Having said that, we will be looking at the situation nearer the date for the EUs but we will definitely have a very strong team in these championships either way."

Nevertheless, Mick Dowling, RTE boxing analyst and eight times Irish senior bantamweight champion is of the opinion that the selectors, in the end, might be better off sending our second-string international team to Poland and not take any chances.

"In saying that, I also feel at the same time that our Olympians need some good serious competition, apart from training camps, in the lead up to Beijing," he said. "It's certainly a long time to be inactive until August."

Olympic champion Michael Carruth said it is undoubtedly a risk: "I missed out the 1991 World Championships when I broke my left hand a week before. This was a qualifier for the Sydney Olympics the following year, but luckily the hand healed and I later qualified for the games."

Meanwhile, the Olympic team are resting before returning to squad training at the National Gym in Dublin next week before heading off for a 12-day camp in France.