David Oliver Joyce made it two from two for the Ireland boxing team in Rio as he beat Andrique Allisop to progress to the lightweight round of 16.
Steven Donnelly got the Irish team off to the perfect start earlier on Sunday with an opening victory and Joyce followed that up with a unanimous decision over his Seychelles opponent.
Making his Olympic debut, Joyce started on the front foot against his rangey opponent who looked to pick off the St Michael’s Athy man with his reach advantage.
But Joyce got inside Allisop and enjoyed plenty of success to the head and body, while rarely getting tagged by the London Olympian.
Joyce got the verdict from all three judges in that opening round and continued to dominate in the second round, which became a scrappy affair as Allisop was opened up above the left eye due to a stray elbow that landed after Joyce’s left hook missed the target.
Joyce took the round on two cards with Allisop getting the nod from the other, which left Joyce ahead on two cards and level on one going into the final round.
Allisop clearly faded despite a bright start in the final stanza and Joyce kept the pace and tempo high as he worked his opponent to both the head and the body to gain the unanimous decision.
“Joyce knows his style and will be rearing to go at Selimov.” - Bernard Dunne
Speakingto RTE Sport after the fight, a delighted Joyce said: “I’m delighted with the way it went. He was a tough guy. This is where I am meant to be and in the ring is where I am meant to be.
Joyce will now fight second seed Albert Selimov for a place in the quarter-finals.
"I sparred with (Selimov) in training camps. He knows what he is in for," added Joyce.
A 'delighted' David Oliver Joyce plans on giving it 'hell for leather' as he progresses in #Rio2016 https://t.co/5hl1XuxGo9
— RTÉ Sport (@RTEsport) August 7, 2016
RTÉ boxing analysts Bernard Dunne observed that Joyce showed his strength in the bout and was fully deserving of the victory.
“He was in control,” he said, speaking after the fight on RTE 2.
“I would have liked to have seen a little more head movement. I thought he walked too directly to his opponent rather than slipping and moving and then really working those body shots, but he did what we thought he would.
“He wore his opponent down, he ground out the result and won quite comfortably in the end.”
Good man Davy Oliver Joyce. I'd love to see him medal. On to the next one
— Carl Frampton MBE (@RealCFrampton) August 7, 2016
Dunne believes that Selimov will prove a big step up in class for Joyce but the RTE pundit believes the Irish fighter has an advantage in that he has got his first outing of the way.
“This is just a start and he will grow so much from this victory.
“Selimov got the bye so he will have the first-fight nerves. Although he’s a world medallist and a European medallist, it’s still the Olympic Games.
“Joyce knows his style and will be raring to go at Selimov.”
Well done @Steven_Donnelly and David Oliver Joyce @ #Rio2016 @olympics. Keep it up #TeamIreland #goforgold @olympiccouncil 🏅🇮🇪👊🏼
— Wayne McCullough (@WayneMcCullough) August 7, 2016
