Irish Olympic hopefuls Grainne Walsh, Daina Moorehouse, Kelyn Cassidy and Jude Gallagher are all through to the last 16 at the Olympic World Qualification Tournament in Busto Arsizio, Italy, after impressive performances on Friday.
Kelyn Cassidy won by knockout, a stiff left hand ending his contest with Guatemala's Wyatt Trujillo inside 90 seconds.
Trujillo appeared determined to hold the centre of the ring in this 80kg contest, with Cassidy happy to slip in and land lefts at will.
His opponent was trying to be aggressive, but left himself open advancing on the three-time Irish senior champion midway through the first, only to be met with a crunching left that sent him tumbling backwards and onto the canvas.
The referee immediately waved off the contest, leaving the Waterford native just two wins away from booking a spot in Paris, with Armenia's Rafayel Hovhannisyan next up on Sunday.
🥊 Check out this knockdown from Kelyn Cassidy! 👀 🇮🇪
— The Olympic Games (@Olympics) March 8, 2024
Competition on Day 6 is fierce as the athletes continue to fight for a place for #Paris2024 at the 1st World Qualification Tournament in Italy.#OlympicQualifiers | #RoadToParis2024 @TeamIreland | @IrelandBoxing pic.twitter.com/xNhCSLtHYk
Grainne Walsh also won through to the last 16, picking up the notable scalp of Stefanie von Berge, who in 2022 became the first German European champion in Budva.
The first round of this 66kg contest belonged to Von Berge, who was ahead on four of the five scorecards, but Walsh matched that in round two to leave the fight in the balance heading into the final round.
Almost from the bell in the third, Walsh took control of proceedings, a series of nice combinations in the first minute catching the eye of the judges.
The rangy Von Berge tried to pick off Walsh from distance in the closing minute, but her opponent's head speed ensured that the Irish fighter was never troubled and with four judges siding with her in round three, she took a 3-2 win.
Daina Moorehouse made it three from three for Ireland with a split decision win over Tayonis Cedeno in the round of 32.
In a tentative opening round in the 50kg category, Moorehouse was the busier and was ahead on four of the five scorecards.
The intensity picked up in round two, with both fighters displaying good footwork, and the Irish fighter just edged it on the scorecards to put her in a commanding position going into the last.
The Venezuelan had to go to broke in the third, but she suffered a knock-down when met by a counter-punch early in the round, meaning Moorehouse had to just stay out of trouble. She did so with ease, earning a 3-2 win and a spot in the last 16.
Jude Gallagher was in action in the evening session and recorded a 4-1 win over India's Mohammad Hussamuddin their 57kg bout.
It was an impressive victory for the 22-year-old over a more experienced opponent who was a bronze medallist at last year's World Championships, which were boycotted by Ireland and other nations.
They Tyrone man started fast and took the first round on all five judges' cards.
Hussamuddin responded in the second but was docked a point for lowering his head, allowing Gallagher to take the round 3-2 and ensure he just needed to avoid a knock-down in the final round to progress.
He will next face Moroccan Soulaimane Samghouli on Sunday evening.
All fighters will seal a ticket to the Olympics if they make it as far as the semi-finals.
Reigning lightweight champion Kellie Harrington, Michaela Walsh, Aoife O'Rourke, Dean Clancy and Jack Marley have already qualified.
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