‘STORM Daniel’ may have struck Paris on Tuesday night – but the ‘Tyrone Tornado’ was blown off course as Jude Gallagher’s Olympic hopes were ended on Wednesday afternoon.
Irish eyes were still smiling after Daniel Wiffen’s gold medal-winning exploits when Gallagher made his way towards the ring to face Filipino pocket rocket Carlo Paalam, the Newtownstewart man facing a tough ask after being paired with one of the tournament favourites.
Known as ‘Pipi Lata’ – or ‘Tin Can Crusher’ because he used to cobble together a few dollars a day as a garbage scavenger in Cagayan de Oro – Paalam brought plenty of pedigree into this Olympics, having landed flyweight silver in Tokyo three years ago, beating Belfast’s Brendan Irvine on the way.
Stepping up from 52kg to 57kg, to face a fully-fledged featherweight in Gallagher, this was a battle of strength versus speed. The little Filipino sat on the back foot, arms low, waiting to use his explosive pace to pick Gallagher off on the way in.
But there was so little to choose in the first as an intriguing battle played out, both looking for the perfect moment to attack and avoid the counter, a lovely Paalam left hook the shot of the first round, which he edged 3-2.
The second round followed a similar pattern, though the Tyrone man applied a bit more educated pressure and looked to have done enough to square it up. The judges, though, had other ideas, awarding it 5-0 to Paalam.
“Yeah sort of,” said Gallagher when asked if he was shocked by the scoring of the second, “it’s hard to know when you’re in there.
“I knew the fight was tight, I knew I wasn’t getting it all my own way. That’s what happens at this level.”
That left the 22-year-old chasing a stoppage in the last; an almost impossible proposition against such a fleet-footed opponent, Gallagher stalking forward in the face of a bit of flashy work, and the odd bit of showboating, from the Filipino.
Irish coach Damian Kennedy pointed to Gallagher when the final bell sounded, that gesture turning to an angry wag of the finger when Paalam’s unanimous decision win was announced.
Gallagher – whose coach Eric Donovan was covering the fight for RTE - was deflated rather than upset. In the face of a tough draw, he knew this one was never going to be plain sailing.
But every time he has lost before, Gallagher has returned in style.
“You just have to deal with it, bounce back stronger, and I will.
“It’s tough but look, this is where I wanted to be. This is where I am sharing the ring with the best in the world, you know, a Tokyo silver medallist and that’s where you want to be - in fighting the best of the best on the world’s biggest stage.
“I’m grateful it happened.”
Round two was the killer. The first could have gone either way, Paalam probably nicked it, but losing the second was a brutal blow.
“Yeah, it’s hard… it’s hard.
“It’s an uphill battle from then, but you have to stay composed. You have to control your emotions and implement the plan and I did that. I didn’t get too eager, too aggressive.
“He was countering, he was trying to counter me, bring the overhand rights. I had to be cautious coming forward so, yeah, it was an uphill battle.
“I just thought the fight was closer than what the scorecards made it out to be, but I’ve no complaints. I had to bite down on the gumshield [in the third], put the hands up and go forward. I had good success doing, it just didn’t work out.
“But look I’ll be back.”
And he hopes that will be at the next Olympics in Los Angeles.
A few factors could affect whether that transpires, however. For a start, boxing won’t be there, as things stand, barring a significant shift in the position of the International Olympic Committee.
And Gallagher was already hot property, irrespective of what happened in Paris.
He caught the eye of Matchroom mogul Eddie Hearn en route to Commonwealth Games gold in Birmingham two years ago and, with a fan friendly box-fighter style – not dissimilar to Carl Frampton – he is sure to attract further interest from the professional game.
“I’m only 22 so in four years’ time I’ll be a much different boxer, I’ll only grow from this. You never know, I’ll go on now and set my sights on LA, be peaking come 26, 27…
“It’s been incredible. I’ve had a bit to wait, there’s been a lot of Irish boxers on before me, I’ve been watching them back in the village and I’ve been itching to get out ever since.
“I got in here today and gave it my best. That’s what I came here to do, so I can leave with my head held high.”
While Gallagher had to wait five days before getting into the ring, Daina Moorehouse has also been forced to watch from the wings. At last, though, her Paris bow comes on Thursday evening.
The 22-year-old - hoping to follow in the footsteps of fellow Bray woman Katie Taylor by becoming an Olympic champion – takes on a familiar foe in home favourite Wassila Lkhadiri.
The French flyweight booked her place in Paris at Moorehouse’s expense 12 months ago, edging a controversial split decision by the narrowest of margins at the European Games.
With a full house expected to roar her on at the North Paris Arena, Moorehouse will know she has to be a clear winner.
With five of the team of 10 now gone, Jack Marley is the only other Irish boxer in action on Thursday when he takes on Tajikistan’s second seed Davlat Boltaev.
Boltaev is taller than the marauding Marley, and claimed Asian Games gold in China last year. He also has a 4-0 record as a professional having first fought a pro three years ago.
RUNNING ORDER
Wednesday, July 31
60kg quarter-final: K Harrington v A Valdes Pana (Colombia) – 4.54pm
75kg last 16: A O’Rourke v E Wojcik (Poland) – 8.52pm
Thursday, August 1
51kg last 16: D Moorehouse v W Lkhadiri (France) – 7pm
92kg: J Marley v D Boltaev (Tajikistan) – 9.08pm
Friday, August 2
57kg last 16: M Walsh v SK Staneva (Bulgaria) – 2.46pm
