Team Ireland’s Aoife O’Rourke has up-graded her World Championship medal to at least a silver. She was the 4-0 victor over 2023 Word Champ China’s Chengyu Wang in her semi-final.
This was a tumultuous and highly physical contest, which included a 1st point deduction and a 3rd round standing count for Wang. Judges scored the bout 28: 28, 27: 29, 26:30, 27:29, 26: 30
She’ll box for gold in Sunday’s Afternoon Session against Turkey’s Busra Isildar – a World and European medalist. This will be the double Olympian and four time continental champion’s second World final this year. She returned from the IBA Women’s World Championship with silver in March.
Speaking to World Boxing after her bout, the Castlerea woman says her coaches will put together a great plan for her final “You’d be some athlete if you win and replicate everything they’re telling you can do. I’ll take small little chunks and hopefully I’ll be able to implement them. No doubt, they’ll put a great plan together and it’ll come down to me trying to implement it in the ring”
Of the huge wave of Irish support in the M&S Arena, she says “It’s incredible. There were times in that fight and I was like – will this girl just step away and let me breathe for a second – but then you hear the crowd, you hear the support and say there’s not long left, just get in to that next gear and push on. Only for them, you definitely would notice you’re energy levels dropping. They’re amazing to be coming over.
Patsy Joyce comes home from the World Boxing Championships with bronze. The 19 year old Westmeath man, contesting at 55kg, lost his semi final against Spain’s on the narrowest of margins, a 3-2 split. He contested against Spain’s Rafael Serrano Lozano, a Paris Olympian, in an incredibly close bout, in skill and score. Judges scored the bout: 28:29, 28:29, 29:28, 29:28, 27: 30. Patsy, one of the youngest boxers in the tournament, has had an incredible World Boxing Championships journey, with three wins. The first, over Jaeyong Shin of Korea, the second over Cuban-born Bulgarian Olympian and World and European medalist, Javier Ibanez Diaz, and the third over Uzbekistan’s Mirazizbek Mirzakhalilov – an Asian champion and World Boxing Cup medalist. The latter two of Patsy’s opponents are more than a decade his senior.
These championships are the first since 2015 in which Ireland has won 3 world medals at a single tournament. Patsy Joyce is also the first male boxer to medal at world level since his cousin, Rio Olympian Joe Ward, won silver in Hamburg in 2017.
Medals Table
Ireland will finish the tournament in a group of nations fifth on the medals table. Uzbekistan is top, with 11 medals, followed by Kazakhstan with 10.
China and England both have 5 medals – Brazil and India have four. Cuba, Ireland, Australia, Japan, Poland and Turkey all have 3.
In all, 66 nations and 540 boxers are contesting this tournament, the first in which men and women jointly vie for World titles. 35 nations will return home without having medaled.
Development
On-going technical development is a key focus for Team Ireland for post-competition athletes at benchmark events.
This includes targeted sparring after a period of post-competition recovery, and is tailored to each boxer. Today, Team Ireland’s Adam Hession, Brian Kennedy and Louis Rooney sparring their Cuban counterparts.
Watch
World Boxing has partnered with Eurovision Sport to broadcast the Championship. Coverage, available HERE and on the RTE Player, HERE
Team Ireland
51kg Daina Moorehouse, of Enniskerry BC, Wicklow. Daina is from Bray, Co. Wicklow.
54kg Jenny Lehane of DCU Boxing Club, Dublin. Jenny is from Ashbourne, Co. Meath
57kg Michaela Walsh of Holy Family Golden Gloves BC Belfast.
60kg Zara Breslin of Tramore BC, Waterford.
65kg Grainne Walsh of St. Mary’s BC, Tallaght, Dublin. Grainne is from Tullamore, Co. Offaly
70kg Lisa O’Rourke of Castlerea BC, Co. Roscommon
75kg Aoife O’Rourke of Castlerea BC, Co. Roscommon. Team Co-Captain
50kg Louis Rooney of Star BC, Belfast
55kg Patsy Joyce of Olympic BC, Mullingar Co. Westmeath
60kg Adam Hession of Monivea BC, Co. Galway. Team Co-Captain
65kg Dean Clancy of Sean McDermott BC, Co. Leitrim. Dean is from Co. Sligo
70kg Matthew McCole of Illies Golden Glove BC Co. Donegal
75kg Gavin Rafferty of Dublin Docklands Boxing Club
80kg Kelyn Cassidy of Saviours Crystal BC, Co. Waterford
85kg Brian Kennedy of St. Brigid’s BC Edenderry Co. Offaly
90kg Jack Marley of Monkstown BC, Dublin
90+kg Martin McDonagh of Galway BC
Support Staff
- Team Manager: Jon Mackey, National Performance Director
- Head Coach: Zauri Antia
- Coaches: Damain Kennedy, Lynne McEnery, Eoin Pluck, James Doyle and JP Delaney
- Doctor: Jim Clover
- Lead Physio: Rob Tuomey
- Performance Analyst: Alan Swanton
- Logistics Support: Sean Crowley, High Performance Manager