SAME TURMOIL, DIFFERENT Olympic cycle.
Ireland’s bid to qualify boxers for the Paris Olympics next summer will kick off today in Poland.
Just as was the case before Tokyo 2021, amateur boxing’s world governing body, IBA, have been expelled by the International Olympic Committee, who will take the qualification process under their own wing beginning at the European Games in Kraków-Małopolska.
Just as was the case before Rio 2016, Ireland will be without a high performance director, with Zaur Anti ostensibly filling that role along with his head-coaching duties.
And just as is perpetually the case, there will be success expected of a young crop of Irish boxers who will be well prepared in the ring in spite of their own national governing body’s dysfunction outside of it.
Ireland have brought with them a 12-strong team to Poland and yet take into consideration some of the talents they’ve left at home: 2022 light-middleweight world champion Lisa O’Rourke, whose 70kg division isn’t an Olympic category and who has been injured in any case; 2022 European middleweight (75kg) champion Gabriel Dossen, who was recently temporarily suspended from the High Performance Unit for a past indiscretion outside of boxing; 2022 European bantamweight silver medallist Dylan Eagleson, whose 54kg division has gotten the chop for these Olympics; and Tokyo bronze medallist and 2022 Commonwealth light-middleweight (71kg) champion Aidan Walsh, who was beaten in his national semi-final by the returning Dean Walsh, nephew of Billy Walsh, back in January.
With plenty of road — and another Irish Seniors — set to take place between now and the final two Olympic qualifying events next year, some of those aforementioned boxers may yet get their respective chances depending on how this week in Poland unfolds.
Of the 12 Irish boxers selected for this particular qualifier, nine of them can book their seats on the plane to Paris by reaching the semi-finals of these European Games, which would see them pocket a European medal in the process. The other three — Aoife O’Rourke (75kg), Sean Mari (51kg) and Jack Marley (92kg) need to reach the final if they are to get the job done at the first time of asking.
Looking at the draws through an Irish lens, an optimistic expectation would be that a third of the team qualifies directly from Kraków-Małopolska. Any more than four would make for an exceptional championship.
🥊 #TeamIreland begins its #EG2023 today🥊
— IABA (@IABABOXING) June 23, 2023
Olympic lightweight champion, Kellie Harrington, 57kg Jude Gallagher and 63.5kg Dean Clancy are in action.
⏰12pm
👀https://t.co/kTKuc24WnN pic.twitter.com/pRMVm25PcW
Most likely to punch their tickets will be reigning Olympic lightweight (60kg) champion Kellie Harrington of Dublin and decorated Belfast bantam (57kg) Michaela Walsh, whose paths towards their requisite semi-finals are, relatively speaking, straightforward.
Roscommon middleweight (75kg) Aoife O’Rourke, who took gold at the 2019 edition of these Games and also went on to compete at Tokyo, must reach the final but has already beaten most of the prospective opposition that stands in her way; the exception being her first-round opponent, the highly rated Cindy Ngamba, who is moving up from light-middle (70kg) and will compete in Poland under the refugee flag.
Also scrapping well above her natural weight is Dundalk’s Amy Broadhurst, whose preferred lightweight (60kg) berth is occupied by Harrington and whose second-favourite category, light-welterweight or 63kg (at which Broadhurst won both world and European gold last year), is not an Olympic division. Broadhurst will instead move up to welter, 66kg, where she was beaten in a thrilling senior final by the naturally larger Gráinne Walsh in January, but where she later took gold at the prestigious Strandja tournament having better acclimatised to the weight.
Broadhurst will likely face a win-and-in fight against either Britain’s Commonwealth champion Rosie Eccles or Italy’s respected Assunta Canfura should she reach the quarter-final stage.
The path to a precious semi looks more treacherous for Ireland’s other two female competitors in Poland: exceptional Wicklow youngster Daina Moorehouse (50kg) will likely firstly face the experienced Tetyana Kob of Ukraine, who beat her on a split last month. Should Moorehouse avenge that defeat, France’s World Championships bronze medallist Wassila Lkhadiri should lie in wait at the quarter-final stage.
At 54kg, meanwhile, Meath woman Jennifer Lehane will firstly face Serbia’s 50kg World Youth champion Sara Cirkovic, and will likely later have to beat Bulgaria’s former world champion and five-time European medallist Stanimira Petrova if she is to reach a semi.
On the men’s side of the draw, Sligo youngster Dean Clancy and Wexford’s returning Dean Walsh look the best bets for qualification.
Clancy’s run towards a potential quarter-final is manageable and there, he would most likely face Italy’s Gianluigi Malanga who beat Ireland’s Brandon McCarthy at the 2021 Worlds.
Walsh, meanwhile, returned to boxing last year after spending time in prison for two separate incidents of assault. He sensationally beat Tokyo bronze medallist Aidan Walsh on his way to a fifth Irish Senior title in January, overtaking the Belfast man in the HPU’s pecking order. Should he progress from the round of 32, he’ll probably wind up running it back in the last 16 with Nikolai Terteryan of Denmark, who beat him on a split at Standja earlier this year. Reaching a semi is a tall order for Walsh, but far from impossible.
Down at 51kg, Dublin’s Sean Mari’s run looks far more quixotic on paper, as does the road for Commonwealth champion Jude Gallagher at 57kg. Both men, talented in their own right but relatively inexperienced at the level, are staring down the barrels of serial international medal winners from the off.
Waterford’s former World Championship quarter-finalist Kelyn Cassidy (80kg), who is selected this time around over his European-champion roommate Gabriel Dossen, will face a familiar face in his opener: Dossen has twice beaten Cassidy’s Norwegian opponent, Mindaugas Gedminas. The last 16 onwards looks more dangerous for Cassidy, who will be paired with either Britain’s highly rated Taylor Bevan or France’s former Joe Ward conqueror Mathieu Bauderlique should he advance.
Dublin heavyweight (92kg) Jack Marley is in with a shout but he needs to reach a final, and some bad men would await him in the semis. Still, Poland could prove a coming-of-age party for the exceptional Marley, who will first Greek former opponent Vagkan Nanitzanian, against whom he excruciatingly exited last year’s Europeans due to a cut.
Ireland will have three boxers in action on Friday: Kellie Harrington, Jude Gallagher and Dean Clancy. The action begins at 12pm, and you can watch it here.
- With reporting by Joe O’Neill
