ADAM NOLAN SAYS he’ll have to wait and see if his third national title is enough to guarantee his place on the plane to the European Boxing Championships later this year.

Nolan was named boxer of the tournament after wrapping up a hat-trick of welterweight crowns with a thrilling win against Willie McLaughlin at the National Elite Finals.

It was a win that cemented the Bray southpaw’s position at the top of Ireland’s 69kg division but he may have to prove his worth again by winning a box-off ahead of Europeans in Minsk this May.

In the past national champions have been automatically selected in the squad for major international tournaments, a precedent which could leave Olympic medallists Paddy Barnes and John Joe Nevin in danger of missing out after they withdrew from nationals through flu and injury respectively. High performance head coach Billy Walsh has already indicated that he wants to bring the strongest team possible, which could lead to a selection box-off in each division.

Nolan, who travels to the University of Limerick this weekend for a national training camp, says he’s in the dark about the process.

“I’ve always said it should be the senior champion on merit,” he said after fighting a three-round exhibition against Phil Sutcliffe Jr as part of the “Road to Rio” promotion in Dublin’s Bord Gáis Energy Theatre last night.

If there’s a box-off, there’s a box-off. Having won my third senior title in a row and having been to the Olympics, I think I’ve cemented that number one place now.