Bantamweight George Kearns made his Ireland international boxing début against Spain at Cork in January 1948 when he came in as a replacement for Dave Connell. Kearns became a regular member in the Ireland team that year and was a reserve for the London Olympics. He went to the 1949 European Amateur Boxing Championships at Oslo and lost to the eventual gold medallist, Italy´s 1948 Olympic silver medal winner Gianni Zuddas. Shortly after the Europeans, Kearns turned professional and in a three-year career he won just one of his three bouts in the paid ranks.
Ireland