There were mixed results for Ireland’s amateurs, as Patsy Joyce secured a quarter-final spot at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool yesterday, while Dean Clancy, Brian Kennedy and former world champion Lisa O’Rourke all bowed out before the medal stages.
In the afternoon session, Patsy Joyce won his 55kg round of 16 fight on a 3-2 split decision against Bulgarian Olympic bronze medallist Javier Ibanez Diaz.
The 19-year-old from Olympic Boxing Club in Mullingar fought mainly on the backfoot and won the opening round on four of the five judges’ scorecards.
Ibanez Diaz started the second at a higher pace, but Joyce adjusted well, with the referee giving the Bulgarian a standing count, before the contest was halted due to a cut sustained by the Irish fighter.
RM Block
The damage was caused by a clash of heads, and therefore the scorecards were read out for the first two rounds, with Joyce winning by the slimmest of margins.
It is unclear whether the cut could affect his chances of boxing in tomorrow’s quarter-final at 2.15pm, where a win would guarantee at least a bronze medal.
2022 world champion Lisa O’Rourke found herself on the wrong side of a 3-2 split decision against the number one seed Lekeisha Pergoliti in the 70kg quarter-final early in the evening session.
The Castlerea native, 23, started at a ferocious pace, overwhelming the highly skilled Australian, as four of the judges gave her the nod in round one.
The following sessions saw Pergoliti gain more success, catching O’Rourke with counters, and despite one judge scoring all three rounds for O’Rourke, it was Pergoliti who had her hand raised after a very close fight.
Sligo’s Dean Clancy bowed out of the 65kg competition at the Round of 16 stage with a unanimous decision loss to Georgia’s Lasha Guruli.
Guruli won the first round at long range, relying on his whipping jab, and then also took the second, despite greater success by Clancy in close.
The final round was competitive again, but Guruli took a 5-0 victory on the scorecards, with the Olympic bronze medallist from Paris advancing into the quarter-finals.
Then late last night, Brian Kennedy lost by unanimous decision to Ukraine’s Danylo Zhazan in a scrappy affair in the 85kg class..
A close first round went to the Ukrainian, and things didn’t get any better in the second, where Kennedy was given a standing count and also deducted a point by the referee,
Today, Ireland’s Aoife O’Rourke (75kg) and Grainne Walsh (65kg) will join Joyce in fighting for medals in the quarter-finals in Liverpool, with those bouts slated for 1.15pm and 7pm.
