MEDAL ALERT – Aoife O’Rourke secures at least bronze in European Championships

Aoife O’Rourke secured Irish boxing’s 35th European medal of 2019 with victory in Madrid today.

The Rosscomon middleweight claimed Ireland’s first medal in the 2019 European Female Championships thanks to a one sided victory over Tetiana Petrovich.

The 2018 European Under-22 silver medal winner suffered defeat in the European Games quarters to  Lauren Price earlier this year, but managed to reach the semi final of the years other big Continental competition with victory over Ukraine in Spain today. 

O’Rourke secured a unanimous points win to secure European Championship bronze at the very least. 

Such was the young talents dominance that she won every round on each of the five judges scorecards with two judges seeing fit to score her a 10-8 round. The final score cards read 30-25, 30-25, 30-25, 30-24, 30-24.  

The Castlerea fighter used her reach early on, but whilst boxing off the jab did find a home for some back hands. The shorter in stature Petrovich did manage to close the distance midway through the round, but some solid rights hands in the closing stages cemented the round in O’Rourke’s favour.

The Irish fighter was more aggressive in the second stanza and forced her foe back – and whilst it was a bit untidier it remained effective.

The Ukranian looked to be feeling the shots and was tiring. She was eventually docked a point for holding, which put O’Rourke firmly into progression pole.

Both fighters were tired in the final round, but Petrovich was considerably more fatigued. As the round progressed O’Rourke found the distance again and fired home some big shots.  

Earlier today Amy Broadhurst progressed to the quarter finals of the competition as she defeated Czech lightweight Dominika Ciklova in the last 16.

The Dundalk southpaw and World Elite quarter-finalist will now meet Russia’s 2014 World Elite champion Anastasia Belikova, the No. 3 seed in the Spanish capital, for at least bronze in the quarter-finals on Wednesday.

Finland’s No. 1 seed and current European Elite lightweight champion Mira Potkonen, who beat Katie Taylor at Rio 2016, edged England’s Paige Murney on a split decision today to book her ticket into the last eight.

Broadhurst picked off more than enough clean shots against the constant marauding of Ciklova to earn a 30-37,30-27,30-27,30-27, 29-28 verdict from a competitive 60kg encounter.

Later on this evening Ceire Smith, who recorded an inside the distance win in Ireland’s first bout in the competition, is in against Turkish flyweight and No. 1 seed Naz Buse Cakiroglu for a place in the last eight.

“I’m really looking forward to it, I have nothing to lose and all to gain,” said Smith after Sunday’s win over Hungary’s Krisztina Beri.

Macroom southpaw Christina Desmond boxes tomorrow.