MICHAELA WALSH HAS voiced her dissatisfaction at the unanimous decision which led to her defeat to Serbia’s Andjela Brankovic yesterday at the World Boxing Championships.
Home fighter Brankovic was unanimously awarded the first round and got a 4-1 decision in the final round by the judges of the 58kg contest. Walsh got a 3-2 split decision in the second round.
Brankovic was awarded the win over the 31-year-old Belfast fighter by all five judges.
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“Yesterday, my dream was stolen,” Walsh said on her Instagram page today. “I stepped into the ring at the World Championships against (a) hometown boxer and dominated the fight. It was clear as day. Yet somehow, the decision went against me. I have always been humble in both victory and defeat, but this is something I cannot accept.”
Walsh added: “This sport is my livelihood, my passion, my life. Decisions like this have real consequences – funding cut, years of sacrifice overlooked, and dreams stolen in plain sight. Do they not understand what we put into this? The blood, sweat, and tears?
“But let me be clear: this was a victory.”
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) boycotted the previous amateur World Championships in 2023 due to governance concerns at the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IABA remains affiliated with the IBA and can compete at events – despite a vote by member clubs of the IABA last October to remove all references to the IBA from its constitution.
The International Olympic Committee last month provisionally recognised the recently created World Boxing as the body to oversee the sport at future Games.
The IOC severed links with the IBA, the long-standing ruling body of amateur boxing, over financial, governance and ethical concerns and took over the organisation of the sport at last year’s Paris Olympics.
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'My dream was stolen': Michaela Walsh hits out at controversial World Championships defeat
MICHAELA WALSH HAS voiced her dissatisfaction at the unanimous decision which led to her defeat to Serbia’s Andjela Brankovic yesterday at the World Boxing Championships.
Home fighter Brankovic was unanimously awarded the first round and got a 4-1 decision in the final round by the judges of the 58kg contest. Walsh got a 3-2 split decision in the second round.
Brankovic was awarded the win over the 31-year-old Belfast fighter by all five judges.
“Yesterday, my dream was stolen,” Walsh said on her Instagram page today. “I stepped into the ring at the World Championships against (a) hometown boxer and dominated the fight. It was clear as day. Yet somehow, the decision went against me. I have always been humble in both victory and defeat, but this is something I cannot accept.”
Walsh added: “This sport is my livelihood, my passion, my life. Decisions like this have real consequences – funding cut, years of sacrifice overlooked, and dreams stolen in plain sight. Do they not understand what we put into this? The blood, sweat, and tears?
“But let me be clear: this was a victory.”
The Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA) boycotted the previous amateur World Championships in 2023 due to governance concerns at the International Boxing Association (IBA).
The IABA remains affiliated with the IBA and can compete at events – despite a vote by member clubs of the IABA last October to remove all references to the IBA from its constitution.
The International Olympic Committee last month provisionally recognised the recently created World Boxing as the body to oversee the sport at future Games.
The IOC severed links with the IBA, the long-standing ruling body of amateur boxing, over financial, governance and ethical concerns and took over the organisation of the sport at last year’s Paris Olympics.
To embed this post, copy the code below on your site
Boxing Michaela Walsh