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<\/p>\nParis Olympian Gr\u00e1inne Walsh produced an authoritative performance against her Slovakian opponent to breeze into the last 16 at the World Boxing Championships in Liverpool on Friday.<\/p>\n
Fighting in the 65kg class, Walsh defeated Jessica Triebelova 5-0 in her opening bout, the judges scoring it 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 30-27.<\/p>\n
Walsh is next up on Monday evening when she will take on either Mariana Soto Torres of Spain or Ukraine\u2019s Nataliia Merinova.<\/p>\n
“The first fight of any tournament can be the most daunting… just getting the feel of things and getting the ball rolling,” she said afterwards.<\/p>\n
“I’m impressed and proud of my performance there. Like our coaches always say, look after the performances and the results will come. That’s what I’ve tried to practice in the camp, being present and just enjoying it because there’s not that many people that get to say they’re living their dream. I’m very privileged to be here.<\/p>\n
“If I’m the best version of Gr\u00e1inne Walsh, I believe I\u2019m up there with the very best of them.”<\/p>\n
Saudi Arabia’s Hadeel Ashour was no match for two-time Olympian Michaela Walsh in their 57kg last-32 clash and the referee stopped the contest before its conclusion.<\/p>\n
The Belfast woman will face Taipei\u2019s Shih-Yi Wu or Croatia\u2019s Nikolina Cacic on Sunday.<\/p>\n
Flyweight (50kg) Louis Rooney suffered the agony of a split decision, losing a high-quality last-32 contest 3-2 to Huthaifa Eshish of Jordan.<\/p>\n
The judges scored it 27-30, 28-29, 29-28, 30-27, 30-27 to the victor.<\/p>\n
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Super heavyweight (90+ kg) Martin McDonagh (above right) also bowed out following a very tight split-decision defeat to India’s Narender Narender.<\/p>\n
The boxers were level on all cards going in to the last round but the former Asian Games bronze medallist edged it for four judges – one of whom awarded him a 10-8 – on scores of 29-28, 28-29, 29-28, 29-27 and 29-28.<\/p>\n
There was also no joy for Gavin Rafferty, who came undone 5-0 against Azerbaijan\u2019s Saidjamshid Jafarov in their 75kg bout.<\/p>\n
Jafarov is a two-time Asian continental champion and a 2023 World silver medalist. He showed his pedigree throughout, with the judges scoring it 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-27, 30-26.<\/p>\n
Four Irish boxers are in action on Saturday. Daina Moorehouse meets fellow Paris Olympian Laura Fuertes Fernandez of Spain in the afternoon session, around midday.<\/p>\n
Donegal\u2019s Matthew McCole (70kg) then makes his competition debut against Ronald Chavez Jr of the Philippines around an hour later.<\/p>\n
Waterford\u2019s Zara Breslin (60kg), begins the evening Session (7pm) against Turkish veteran Gizem Ozer, who is a European Games medallist.<\/p>\n
The last Irish boxer in action on Saturday is team co-captain, double Olympian, four-time continental champion and world silver medallist Aoife O\u2019Rourke.<\/p>\n
The Roscommon woman will be out around 8.45pm against Czechia’s Monika Langerova.<\/p>\n