Sean McComb will meet Cuba’s No. 2 seed Andy Cruz for a place in the quarter-finals of the World Elite Championships in Hamburg, Germany on Sunday.

 

The Belfast light-welter, boxing well within himself, beat Brazil’s Joedison De Jesus on a 4-1 split decision in an all southpaw battle this evening to set up the three rounder with the current WSB champion.

 

Both McComb and De Jesus needed medical attention for cuts on their brows after an accidental clash of heads in the third.

 

Earlier today, Kurt Walker bowed out on a 4-1 split decision to Americas Continental champion Leonel De Los Santos of the Dominican Republic in the bantam class.

 

Walker went down under a left hook late in the first but showed tremendous courage and conditioning to get back on his feet and had good second and third rounds.

 

Tipperary super-heavy Dean Gardiner is in action versus Korean southpaw Hyeon Do Kim tomorrow evening. Rio Olympians Joe Ward and Brendan Irvine both received byes into the last 16 on Monday.

 

Ward awaits the winner of Saturday’s bout between Georgia’s Iago Kizara and Scotland’s Sean Lazzerini and Irvine awaits who emerges from the flyweight clash between Kazakhstan’s Zamat Issakulov and Korea’s Inkyu Kim.

 

World Elite Championships Hamburg, Germany

 

August 25th

(Last 32)

56kg Kurt Walker (Ireland) lost to Leonel De Los Santos (Dominican Republic) 1-4

64kg Sean McComb (Ireland) beat Joedison De Jesus (Brazil) 4-1

August 26th

(Last 32)

91kg+ Dean Gardiner (Ireland) v Hyeon Do Kim (Korea)

August 27th

(Last 16)

64kg Sean McComb (Ireland) v Andy Cruz (Cuba)

August 28th

(Last 16)

52kg Brendan Irvine (Ireland) v Azamat Issakulov (Kazakhstan) or Inkyu Kim (Korea)

81kg Joe Ward (Ireland) v Iago Kizira (Georgia) or Sean Lazzerini (Scotland)

Irish squad

52kg Brendan Irvine  (St Paul’s)
56kg Kurt Walker (Canal)
64kg Sean McComb (Holy Trinity)
81kg Joe Ward (Moate) cpt
91+kg Dean Gardiner (Clonmel)

Team manager/High-Performance Director: Bernard Dunne
Coaches: Zaur Antia, John Conlan and Dmitry Dimitruc
Doctor: Jim Clover
Physio: Seamus Caffrey
Performance Analysis: Alan Swanton