There was no joy for Cliona D’Arcy in her medal fight at the European Elite Boxing Championships in Sofia on Sunday.
In their 80+kg quarter-final, 21-year-old D’Arcy, found herself up against a well-decorated opponent in Elżbieta Wójcik, the Polish veteran who got the nod in a controversial victory over Aoife O’Rourke in the Paris Olympics two years ago.
Galwegian D’Arcy, a 2022 World Youth champion, left it all in the ring but struggled against the height, reach and experience of the 30-year-old double Olympian and multiple European medallist.
Wójcik dominated the bout from the first bell, although D’Arcy had moments of success off the jab in the first and second round, and used the ring well.
Evelyn Igharo and Jack Marley will both box for a medal on Tuesday afternoon after their opening wins in the championships.
Igharo saw off Aryna Danilchyk of Belarus in their 70kg last-16 bout. The 25-year-old was a comfortable 4-1 victor to set up a quarter-final clash with experienced English boxer Evelyn Reid, who was a bronze medallist at the 2025 World Boxing Championships, and won silver at the weight at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
“I feel great, I just had a rusty year so far so I feel great now to get the first one out of the way after waiting four days to box,” said Dundalk’s Igharo. “I’ve had a hard year, just coming back competitively, so over the moon with the first one anyway.”
Marley came through a difficult bout against Aryan Panah Saed of the World Boxing Refugee Team, a clash he later described as like “being in a mosh pit for three rounds”.
Jack Marley will box for a medal on Tuesday after beating Aryan Panah Saed of the World Boxing Refugee Team. Photograph: Tom Maher/Inpho
Marley won 3-2 on the judges’ cards. “My opponent was short, stocky, he was like a bull – he didn’t stop, whether that was with punches or his head,” said the Dubliner.
The referee took no action against Saed. “The second you get frustrated … like, if we’re in a clinch, I’ll say what it is to the ref, like ‘elbow’ or ‘head’ and if he doesn’t do anything, I just forget about it and get under way,” said Marley, who will next meet Georgia’s Georgii Kushitashvli, a 2022 European and 2023 World medallist.
“I’m really looking forward to it. It’s important to enjoy tonight, just to relax and look back on my performance and take the positives away and work on the negatives. I’m really happy.”
Dean Clancy won the final round of his last-16 bout on three judge’s cards but that wasn’t enough to prevent a unanimous victory overall for his 65kg French opponent Hugo Grau, a 3-0 pro boxer who won the World Boxing Cup China this year.
“I’m a bit disappointed,” said the Sligo man. “I was down after the first round and came out all guns blazing. I thought I was sharper and had stronger shots, but it went against me in the second round.
“I was kind of going for broke. I won the last round, in fairness, but he’s a top operator. It was very tight. We’ll look back and learn from the mistakes, and be better.
“The experience is putting the whole team in a good place for next year’s Olympic qualifiers.”
Earlier, there was also disappointment for Jenny Lehane, who went down 4-1 in a tight contest with her fellow Paris Olympian, Wassila Lkhardiri, of France.
Belfast light-middleweight Jon McConnell will compete for a medal on Monday.