Mixed fortunes for Irish boxers on opening day of European championships

Marley was beaten by Belgium’s Victor Schelstraete on a split decision after a bout review.

Unlike last month’s Olympic qualification tournament in Italy, these championships are organized under the auspices of the International Boxing Federation (IBA). In another attempt to eliminate judging controversies, any bout which yields a 3-2 verdict is reviewed.

The fight is watched live and scored by two other ringside officials – an observer and an evaluator. In the review process their scores are considered, which means seven officials judge the contest.

In Marley’s case he lost after the review, which was disappointing given that Schelstraete failed to qualify for the Paris Olympics at the last qualification tournament in Busto Arsizio. He has a patchy 17-17 amateur record though he did win four professional fights.

There was better news for Galway’s Adam Hession, who fashioned a unanimous 5-0 win over Georgia’s Giorgi Kapanadze in the preliminary round of the featherweight division.

The 11-strong Irish team includes Paris-bound boxers Kellie Harrington (60kg), Michaela Walsh (57kg), Aoife O’Rourke (75kg) and Dean Clancy (63.5kg).

Olympic champion Harrington has a bye – she will face either an Italian or Turkish opponent on Tuesday for a place in the quarter-finals and a guaranteed bronze medal if she wins.

The team flag bearer Lisa O’Rourke (66kg) also has a bye to the quarter-final, which she contests on Tuesday against Slovakia’s Jessica Triebelov.

Lisa’s sister Aoife will also be fighting for a bronze medal on Tuesday against the winner of a preliminary bout between Hungary and Poland.

For the first time since Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Irish boxers at elite level will be sharing a ring with Russian opposition with Shannon Sweeney (50kg) and Niamh Fay (54kg) drawing them.

Ricky Nesbit (51kg) is the only Irish boxer in action on Friday, meeting Turkey’s Samet Gumus in a preliminary round.