TYRONE’S Jude Gallagher is just one win away from sealing a spot at this summer’s Olympic Games after progressing to the final day of action at the World qualifier in Busto Arsizio.
The Newtownstewart man clocked up his third win of the competition on Sunday to secure a Monday evening showdown with Turkmenistan’s Shukur Ovezov – the prize at stake a ticket to Paris, by virtue of claiming one of the four quota places on offer.
Yet Gallagher was made to work hard by young Moroccan Soulaimane Samghouli, the surprise package of the featherweight division, whose awkward, unorthodox style posed problems in the opening two rounds.
Gallagher just shaded those on the cards, but it was all to play for heading into the last.
Cometh the hour, though, cometh the man. With the Moroccan tiring, and his attacks becoming increasingly loose, Gallagher stayed in control and landed the more eye-catching shots to claim a 4-1 split decision win.
It was a tougher night’s work than his next opponent faced as Ovezov’s bout with Olympic silver medallist Carlo Paalam was abandoned early in the second round when the Filipino appeared to suffer a shoulder injury during an awkward tangle.
Gallagher is one of three Irish boxers still standing heading into D-Day, as Grainne Walsh and Kelyn Cassidy are also within touching distance of an Olympic spot after clocking up impressive wins over the weekend.
Walsh outclassed Friza Asiko on Saturday, flooring the Kenyan in the first before forcing a standing count in the second en route to a comprehensive victory.
It won’t be anywhere like as easy in Monday’s afternoon session against elusive Pole Aneta Rygielska – an opponent the Offaly woman knows well.
The pair have met three times in the past, and while Rygielska holds the upper hand 2-1, Walsh claimed victory in their most recent meeting, at the semi-final stage of the Leszek Drogosz memorial tournament in Poland last September.
With world champions Amy Broadhurst and Lisa O’Rourke chomping at the bit for a crack at the second World qualifier in May, should Walsh fail to qualify, the 28-year-old knows there is no room for error.
Cassidy, meanwhile, turned in the best performance of the day when he outclassed aggressive Armenian Rafayel Hovhannisayn.
Jabbing away at an already damaged right eye, which was examined by the ringside doctor several times during the fight, Cassidy frustrated Hovhannisayn by remaining on the back foot and picking his punches superbly.
Considering his previous victory was a first round stoppage after heavily dropping Guatemalan Wyatt Trujillo, the Waterford light-heavy has already shown there are plenty of strings to his bow.
But his stiffest test awaits in Monday evening’s final, where Kazakhstan’s Nurbek Oralbay - who claimed gold at last year’s World Championship in Tashkent – stands between Cassidy and a place in Paris.
There was huge disappointment for boxers at opposite ends of the weight scale over the weekend, however, with super-heavy Martin McDonagh and flyweight Daina Moorehouse missing out on the last eight in agonising fashion.
On Saturday McDonagh went hell for leather with experienced Russian Danis Latypov, boxing for Bahrain, before slipping to a split decision defeat. The towering Tuam man has been a revelation in Italy, and will fancy his chances in the final World qualifier in Thailand.
So too will Moorehouse, the Bray pocket rocket left devastated on Sunday after appearing to have done just enough in her last eight bout, only for the judges to give the nod to Uzbekistan’s Sabina Bobokulova.
SCHEDULE
World Olympic qualifier, Busto Arsizio
Monday
66kg quarter-final: G Walsh v A Rygielska (Poland) – afternoon session
80kg quarter-final: K Cassidy v N Oralbay (Kazakhstan) – evening session
57kg quarter-final: J Gallagher v S Ovezov (Turkmenistan) – evening session
