Ireland are assured of at least two bronze medals at the European Olympic Games and once again it has been the country’s boxers who have delivered at a major championships.
Regan Buckley and Michael Nevin are both into the semi-finals in Minsk after their respective wins over Spain's Martin Molina Salvador and Turkey's Serhat Guler guaranteed both a place on the podium. Buckley and Nevin both took their bouts with 4-1 decisions from the judges
“I’m over the moon to be honest,” Buckley said after his win in the 49kg division. “It was a hard fought fight. He came forward and threw a lot of punches, I had to mix it up a bit. The first round I was controlling it very well and I was catching him on the counter. Then I was working off the jab in the last round and catching him with some nice shots and that’s what got me the fight. It’s all about the next step from here on out.”
Nevin was equally thrilled after an excellent performance saw him past Guler in the 75kg middleweight class. “I’m feeling good, I’m happy with my performance and it’s on to the next one now,” he said afterwards. “It was a good fight, he was a strong opponent and I feel good. I have a bronze medal at least now and hopefully, I’ll try and change the colour.”
Aoife O'Rourke is also on the brink of a medal following her win over Viktoryia Kebikava in the women's middleweight category on Tuesday evening. She joins Michaela Walsh, Kellie Harrington, Kurt Walker and Grainne Walsh who are all one fight away from a semi-final and at least a bronze medal.
