KURT WALKER HAS advanced to the 57kg quarter-finals at the World Boxing Championships in Ekaterinburg, Russia, and is now just one win away from securing a medal for Ireland.
Walker, the reigning European champion, didn’t have it all his own way against a familiar foe in Canada’s Robin Basran but emerged on the right side of a unanimous decision (30-27 x3 and 29-28 x2) to book his place in the last eight.
The Antrim native was deserving of his victory, although the three wider scorecards were probably a touch harsh on the tricky Basran.
Walker improved incrementally as the bout progressed, targeting body and head in a fine exhibition of boxing by both men.
The Irishman had beaten his Canadian adversary in the 2018 Commonwealths, and by the final round on Tuesday had figured him out once more. Walker thumped home a number of right hands while largely staying out of harm’s way, and could even afford a confident smile and a half-baked fist pump at the final bell.
The 24-year-old sixth seed faces a higher-ranked opponent in his fight for at least bronze: Mongolia’s third seed Tsendbaater Erdenebat, the reigning Asian Games and Asian Championships gold medallist and a Rio Olympian, awaits in the last eight.
That bout will take place on Wednesday. If Walker emerges victorious, he will become the 14th Irish boxer to medal at the Worlds, which began back in 1974.
Former Ireland performance analyst and current coaching wizard of OZ Eoin Toolan joins Murray Kinsella and Gavan Casey to predict Ireland’s World Cup, break down every pool, and call the overall winners.
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
