Joe Ward and Seán McComb will attempt to increase Ireland's quarter-final contingent to five at the World Championships after Michael Conlan, Brendan Irvine and Michael O'Reilly recorded wins last night.
Ward and McComb compete on Friday night following a trio of last-16 successes for Team Ireland at the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena where a vocal contingent of ex-pat Irish supporters made themselves heard throughout the evening.
Schedule change
Irvine, the youngest member of the team at 19 years of age was up first, with his bout starting sooner than expected after a late schedule change.
The Belfast light-flyweight appeared lethargic to begin with in the first round, taking on Turkey's Muhammet Unlu. However, Irvine gradually took control of the bout in the second and final rounds to claim a split-decision win.
Team captain Conlan also looked slightly rusty during his first bout at the tournament but managed to defeat Brazilian bantamweight Robenilson Vieira de Jesus.
De Jesus won the first round despite landing few troublesome shots, and looked to spoil afterwards to the point that he was warned for a low blow in the final round as Conlan recover to record a majority points win, 28-28, 29-27, 30-26.
“I knew he was going to get warned, so I played on it even more,” said Conlan afterwards. “I took my 10 seconds break and recovered.
“I think he died a death a bit in the last round, my fitness is very good, and what I seen of him he usually fades in the last round. I knew it was going to be a high-paced fight and tough, though. He’s a two-time Olympian and a smart fighter.”
O'Reilly made it 3-0 for Ireland on day three of the competition, claiming a dominant 3-0 points win over Australian Daniel Lewis. Intriguingly, O'Reilly will meet Zhanibek Alimkhanuly in the last eight, the Kazkh fighter who defeated Jason Quigley in the 2013 final.
