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Ceire Smith and coach Peter Taylor. ©INPHO/James Crombie
Road to London

Heartbreak as Smith outclassed in China

Cavan’s Ceire Smith was stopped by fourth seed Karolina Michalczuk in the flyweight last 16 at the AIBA World Boxing Championships.

CEIRE SMITH’S OLYMPIC dream came to an end this morning with defeat at the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Qinhuangdao, China.

The Cavan flyweight struggled from the outset in her last 16 bout against former world champion Karolina Michalczuk of Poland before the referee stopped the contest in the third round.

Smith looked comfortable in winning her opening two fights but quickly found herself on the back foot against the fourth seed and trailed 12-1 at the end of the opening round.

Although she landed more scoring punches in the second, she could never reel Michalczuk in and found herself 23-7 in arrears before the fight was waved off.

The defeat means that Ireland’s hopes in China, the final qualifier for London 2012, rest solely on three-time world champion Katie Taylor who is in action later this morning.

Taylor is expected in the ring at about 10am Irish time for her last 16 lightweight bout against Saida Khassenova of Kazakhstan. With three qualification spots up for grabs for European fighters, a win could be enough to clinch the Bray native’s Olympic spot depending on other results.

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