BELFAST teenager Brendan Irvine was controversially edged out on a split decision for gold at the European Games in Baku on Thursday.
Russian southpaw Bator Sagaluev was adjudged to have won the 49kg final (29-28, 29-28, 28-29) against the St Paul’s light-flyweight – a verdict that left Irish head coach Billy Walsh shaking his head.
“I thought we won rounds two and three,” said Walsh.
“He hit his opponent more than he hit him. That’s supposed to be the name of the game. We’re very proud of Brendan, but disappointed at losing the decision.
“Brendan is just 19 and he’s won a silver medal at his first major tournament, a fantastic achievement for such a young man.”
Sagaluev, who had a three-inch height disadvantage, had the measure of ‘Wee Rooster’ in the opening round, but Irvine was on top for most of the second. However, just one judge went with Irvine in that round, even though he found the target with the cleaner head and body shots.
The reigning Irish light-fly champion, continuously harassing and peppering the Russian, won the third 10-9 on all three cards. Ultimately, though, the second round scoring decided the destination of the gold medal.
“There’s mixed emotions. I’m delighted with the silver, but very disappointed to lose in the final,” said Irvine.
“He was quite sharp in the first and for the first 15 seconds of the second, but I took over from there and he didn’t want to know. I thought I did enough to win. But I‘m very proud of my achievement because I’m only 19 years old and this is my first major competition for Ireland.
“I’ve got a lot of publicity out of it but I need to go back to the gym where it all starts and learn. I wanted the gold medal when I came here but I never thought I would get this far.”
As a result of picking up a silver medal, Irvine has also qualified for October’s World Championships and Olympic qualifiers in Doha, Qatar, and also sees him pick up 500 ranking points.
Those points will see him enter the AIBA World elite rankings in a top 12 position for the first time when the table is updated to reflect performances in Baku.
Meanwhile, Olympic champion Katie Taylor (8.45am), Holy Trinity’s Seán McComb (9am) and Michael O’Reilly (10am) will be in semi-final action on Friday morning.
London 2012 gold medallist Taylor and McComb meet Yana Alekeevna and Albert Selimov respectively – boxers who once fought for Russia and the Ukraine at international level, but who are now trading leather for Azerbaijan. O’Reilly faces Russian Maxim Koptyakov for a place in Saturday’s middleweight decider.
Taylor won her fifth successive World elite gold after beating Alekeevna on a unanimous decision in the lightweight final in Korea last year, and is anticipating another tough battle.
“I only concentrate on my own performance in the ring,” she said.
“The world final was tough and I’m expecting the same tomorrow. I said all along that my target out here is gold. That’s always my aim. The atmosphere will be electric, I relish that and am looking forward to it.”
