JUDE GALLAGHER, GRÁINNE Walsh, Kelyn Cassidy and Daina Moorehouse all progressed to the last 16 at the Olympic boxing qualifiers in Italy today.
It was a clean sweep for the Irish, four wins from four.
Tyrone’s Gallagher was the last in action at the E-Work Arena in Busto Arsizio this evening. He notched up a comfortable 4-0 win over Mohammad Hussamuddin of India at 57kg/featherweight.
Gallagher, who is trained by Eric Donovan, is an exciting 22-year-old prospect. The Two Castles ABC star beat European silver medallist Dylan Eagleson in the Elite semis in November and is a Commonwealth gold medallist from 2022.
Earlier, Tullamore’s Gráinne Walsh earned a huge win over Germany’s European champion Stefanie von Berge on a 3-2 split.
In a 66kg/light-middleweight thriller, Walsh dropped the first round on four of the five judges’ cards but produced huge second and third rounds to progress to the last 16. She faces Kenya’s Frizo Asika tomorrow.
Walsh, 28, was selected at a stacked weight class over world champions Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O’Rourke, as well as Christina Desmond, and the former European and EU Championship medallist has proven her worth so far.
Interestingly, Wexford man Eddie Bolger — who trained Walsh with Ireland in the past– coaches Germany and was in Von Berge’s corner today.
Meanwhile, Waterford’s Kelyn Cassidy stopped Guatemalan Wyatt Trujillo in the first round of their 80kg/light-heavyweight showdown. The three-time Elite champion will face come-forward Armenian Rafayel Hovhannisyan in the last 16 on Sunday.
🇮🇪’s Kelyn Cassidy knocks out Wyatt Trujillo of 🇬🇹 in the opening round with a huge left hand. The Irishman, who has improved leaps and bounds over the past few years, is two fights away from qualifying for Paris. pic.twitter.com/laTalyPfHk
— Taylor O’Higgins (@TaylorOnSport) March 8, 2024
And Bray’s Daina Moorehouse beat Tayonis Cedeno on a 3-2 split at 50kg/light-flyweight.
The scoreline was deceiving as Moorehouse out-boxed and out-fought her Venezuelan opponent throughout, effectively wrapping up the contest — outside of a Cedeno stoppage — with a round to spare.
The Enniskerry BC ace will face excellent Uzbek Sabina Bobokulova in last 16 on Sunday.
Tomorrow, Tuam’s Martin McDonagh will go head-to-head with Russian-born Danis Latypov, representing Bahrain, at 92+kg/super-heavyweight.
The 21-year-old only took up boxing in 2021, and won the Irish Intermediates and Seniors in the space of two weeks last October/November.
If any Irish boxer reaches a semi-final in Italy, they’ll qualify for this summer’s Olympic Games. A quarter-final is effectively an box-off for a ticket to Paris – Gallagher, Walsh, Cassidy and Moorehouse are within touching distance of that now.
- With reporting from Gavan Casey.
