Team Ireland experienced mixed fortunes at the AIBA World Women’s Elite Championships in Jeju, South Korea, with European bronze medallist Claire Grace advancing but Joanne Lambe bowing out.
Grace, who boxes out of the Callan club in Kilkenny, was involved in a tough battle with Romanian welter Cristina Stanca before having her hand raised in victory on a unanimous decision.
Grace’s mobility and ability to find the target in combinations ultimately beat her durable opponent. The ringside doctor examined a cut over Grace’s left eye two times in the final round of the encounter but gave the bout the green light on both occasions and the world number 10 finished out the four-rounder as she had started it, on the front foot and moving forward into the last 16.
Lambe lost to Qiong Lu of China. The Monaghan featherweight connected with two solid rights in the opening exchanges and worked well behind her jab for most of the four rounds, although she took a standing count after an exchange in the second, a round which Lambe probably won.
The Irish champion continued to press forward in the third. A close frame; Lambe firing home backhands, Lu replying with rights over the top.
That pattern more or less replicated itself in the fourth, but it was Lu that progressed on a unanimous decision after a close 57kg contest.
Olympic champion Katie Taylor begins her title defence tomorrow against Valerian Spicer of Dominica, while Michaela Walsh is in against Jamaica’s Sarah Joy Rae.
