Gráinne Walsh produced the sole Irish victory on day five of the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool, coming through a blistering 65kg bout against Spain’s Mariana Soto Torres to book her place in the last eight.
Walsh proved the faster and more direct boxer throughout the three rounds, earning a unanimous 5-0 verdict, the 29-year-old from Tullamore next boxing for a medal against China’s Yang Liu, who won Olympic silver in Paris last summer.
That bout on Wednesday will require all of Walsh’s experience, but she’s clearly come to Liverpool in excellent form, producing a masterful display against Soto Torres.
It wasn’t to be however for Jack Marley, who was seeded third in the heavyweight 90kg, as he lost his last 16 bout against Kazakhstan’s Sagyndyk Togambay, which ended in a 4-1 decision.
RM Block
It was another disappointment for Marley, the 22 year-old from Monkstown BC in Dublin, with the judges scoring that bout: 28:29, 27:30, 28:29, 28:29, 29:28
Jenny Lehane also bowed out at the last 16 stage of the 54kg, losing a 5-0 decision to USA’s Yoseline Perez, the top seed in the weight. The judges scored the bout 26: 30; 27:29, 27: 29, 26:30, 26:30, following a point deduction for the 27-year-old Lehane.
