MEDAL ALERT: King Kenny Okungbowa claims medal #2 for Ireland at World Universities
It seems that good things come in twos.
Just hours after Cork middleweight Christina Desmond secured Ireland’s first ever medal at the World University Champions, Athlone heavy Kenny Okungbowa has followed it up with another guaranteed bronze medal after a brilliant performance.
The Westmeath boxer was not to be denied this afternoon in Thailand against the very experienced Tadas Tamasauskas to book his place in Thursday’s semi finals and ensure that he will fly home from Chiang Mai with a medal around his neck.
A cut, which would require frequent attention, opened up to the side of Baltic boxer’s left eye in a wild opener, where Okungbowa seemed to land heavier shots on the inside, shaking the Lithuanian once or twice.
A quieter second saw the Midlander the aggressive, while Tamasauskas – who had lost twice to Darren O’Neill in the past two years, as well as holding a win over Steven Ward – sought to counter punch and had a degree of success.
With both boxers tired in the third, it was Okungbowa who was again the man pressing and looking to fight and he solidified his claim for the round in a hell-for-leather final thirty seconds
With neither boxer confident of victory, Okungbowa had his hand raised on a split decision to a chorus of cheers from his Irish team-mates in the crowd.
