Amy Broadhurst sent out a signal of intent as she coasted into the quarter-finals of the European Games in Poland.
The world champion made light work of Latvian opponent Beatrise Rozentale in her round of 16 clash in the welterweight (66kg) division, with a punch-perfect performance to secure a unanimous decision victory.
Broadhurst scored perfect tens across the board in all three rounds from all five judges, with one judge's overall scoring of 30:23 (10:8, 10:8, 10:7) showing the difference in class between the two fighters.
"It was probably more dominant than I thought it would be. I thought she was going to run at me because I sparred with her in May and she's a tough girl," she said.
"There was no quitting in her, but it was a good performance and I’m happy with how I performed over the three rounds. I did what the coaches told me to do, and that’s all they ask for."
Earlier, Kellie Harrington, Jennifer Lehane, Kelyn Cassidy and Jack Marley all progressed to the quarter-finals at the European Games in Poland.
Lehane was first in action and had to dig deep to get the better of Greek fighter Antonia Filippa Giannakopoulou in their 54kg bout.
The Ashbourne fighter is just one win away from securing her place at next year’s Olympic Games in Paris but she had to do it the hard way against a wily opponent.
With Giannakopoulou starting strongly and briefly looking like she could overwhelm the Irish fighter, Lehane was given an early warning from the referee but recovered brilliantly after that.
Her ability to get in close to the Greek fighter, land her punches and then duck back out of the trouble set the tone for the fight and she took the opening round on four the five judges scorecards.
Giannakopoulou tried to step things up in the second round but became slightly reckless, playing into Lehane’s hands as she continued to pick her off on the counter and land with more frequency. Again the judges gave the Irish woman the nod as the end of the second.
Lehane saved her best for last, turning up the style in the third. With Giannakopoulou knowing she needed something special to turn things around, she began to look desperate and Lehane was boxing clever, keeping her opponent at distance while catching her on the counter.
There was little doubt as to who the winner would be when the final bell went and so it proved with Lehane claiming a unanimous decision.
"We knew it was going to be a tough fight," said Lehane. "She's very much an aggressor, so I was expecting her to be coming forward. A lot of the tactics went to plan.
"I got a bit mixed up in inside there, and that resulted in a point deduction first round, but I dug deep for round two and then again for round three, pushed it on to get a unanimous decision. So, I'm happy out.
"We had a keyword going into the fight, which was space, so my coaches were putting that back into my head, not get caught up in there because she does like to get in and get rough. So, yeah, I'm not too sure if I pulled it off that much, but I did come out, I came out on top, so I got the job done."
It was a similar result for Olympic gold medalist Kellie Harrington who got the better of Elida Kocharyan in their 60kg encounter.
Harrington was the heavy favourites going into the fight and displayed the reason for that early into the first when she forced her opponent into a standing count after connecting with a powerful combination.
It’s difficult for any amateur to come back from such an early setback and doubly so when they’re facing an opponent of Harrington’s calibre.
While Kocharyan upped her work-rate and aggression in the second and third rounds, Harrington was the one connecting with the more meaningful shots and she adapted perfectly to the changing structure of the fight, going from being the aggressor in the first round to fighting on the counter after that.
All five judges gave the second round to Harrington and with Kocharyan knowing that only a stoppage in the third would realistically be enough, she came out in search of a big decisive blow, but never really looked like landing it.
As the Armenian became more reckless, Harrington continued to pick her off, catching her on the counter and then slipping out of range.
The final round went to Harrington on all five judges cards, with two of them scoring it 10-8 and the Dubliner can now look forward to a quarter-final showdown with Sweden’s Agnes Alexiusson.
"It didn't feel so comfortable to be honest, I was quite nervous going in," said Harrington. "I had seen that girl back in October in the Europeans in Montenegro, and I thought she was quite special, and she is special; she is one to watch, so it was a really good fight. I had the tactics spot on, so happy enough I move forward to the next one.
"I haven’t thought too far ahead, I’m just here to enjoy myself, to be honest, I haven’t really been enjoying it for a while. I have got the hunger back in the last few camps we have had, I’ve been feeling the joy and feeling the love again. Whatever happens here happens, and whatever doesn’t happen, doesn’t."
Kelyn Cassidy is also just one fight away from Olympic qualification after he got the better of Britain's Taylor Jay Bevin to come out on top in their 80kg round of 16 bout.
The Waterford fighter edge out Bevin in a tight encounter clearly winning the first and final rounds while the judges were split on the outcome of the second.
Jack Marley made it four from four for the Ireland team on Monday as the Dublin heavyweight secured a split decision victory over Vagkan Nanitzanian from Greece.
A tight opening round saw Marley's opponent edge it on the cards with a 3:2 split between the judges, however, the Monkstown Boxing Club fighter secured the second round on four of the five cards before finishing the bout with a comprehensive final round to record a 4:1 overall win.
Marley received a bye into the last 16 and now sits two wins away from Olympic qualification as the heavyweight division is only offering Paris qualification for the finalists in this tournament.
Sean Mari came up short against the diminutive Spaniard Martin Molina in his flyweight (51kg) bout.
Despite Molina's stature, he boasts a rich pedigree and has medalled at both European and World Championships.
On an otherwise perfect day for the Irish contingent, the 28-year old Molina secured victory by a unanimous decision.
