Team Ireland sent 14 amateur hopeful fighters to the European Elite Boxing Championships in Sofia and Belfast’s Jon McConnell and Michaela Walsh both returned home with bronze medals after impressive runs in their respective divisions.
McConnell, competing at 70kg had a perfect start to the tournament, opening his campaign with a unanimous points victory over Turkey’s Necat Ekinci before progressing past Poland’s Damian Durkacz to claim a spot in the last 16. He then produced one of his toughest performances of the championships against Italy’s Gabriele Guidi Rontani in the quarter-finals, edging a physical contest 3-2 to guarantee a medal.
This fine run came to an end in the semi-finals in a very close contest with Azerbaijan’s Nabi Isgandarov. Despite the disappointment of missing out on the final, he can be proud of three well-earned victories and a European medal to sit alongside the Commonwealth Gold he won only eight weeks ago.
Michaela Walsh was also making a swift return to competitive boxing after a tough loss and silver medal in Glasgow. She started her European campaign with a comfortable victory over Montenegro’s Bojana Gojkovic and then moved onto the home favourite, Bulgarian Stanimira Petrova in the quarter-finals. Walsh came from behind, dominating the final round to take a 5-0 decision and guarantee herself a medal.
Michaela Walsh
In the semi-finals, Walsh faced Hungary’s Kukhta Vlagyszlava. The Belfast boxer found herself under pressure after a difficult second round, with all five judges awarding the fight to her opponent. Walsh fought hard in the final round, but the Hungarian held on to win 4-1, leaving Walsh with the bronze medal.
Together, the Belfast fighters made up half of Team Ireland's medal haul. A great performance by both that will inspire generations to come and ensures that Irish boxing’s beating heart is right here in Belfast.
