KATIE TAYLOR gave new meaning to the Fighting Irish.
Mary Kom sent another one reeling.
Yet the two first-rate acts played second fiddle on Saturday.
The best was certainly saved for last at the AIBA Women’s World Boxing Championships’ third day, as American Queen Underwood edged Mavzuna Chorieva of Tajikistan by the smallest of margins to culminate the action at the Wildey Gym.
It couldn’t have been scripted any better – the final bout going down to the final method of decision – after the two lightweights ended their nerve-wrecking contest with seven points apiece.
However, the judges’ cumulative scores had Underwood one point better, much to the disbelief of her distraught counterpart who broke down wailing at the result.
It was the type of emotion that had come to define the enthralling second-round encounter, following a chest-bumping showdown that led to both boxers being penalised at the end of the first round.
Tempers flared as Chorieva threw a punch after the round-ending bell, leading to Underwood getting in the Tajikistani’s face to show her disapproval.
The approval, though, was for the subsequent stand-off, which the mainly pro-American crowd greeted with raucous cheers.
But they wouldn’t have much to cheer in the ensuing three rounds while Chorieva expertly countered the American’s attack with some telling right hooks for a 7-5 advantage.
That lead didn’t last a minute into the final round though, as Underwood scored on a left-right combination to pull even before the spent pugilists tussled to the end.
Their brawl provided the perfect climax to a day that featured lightweight legends Taylor (60 kg) and Kom (48 kg) in two lopsided contests.
It wasn’t the luck of the Irish, more so than the lightning quick combos than put Taylor through to the quarters following a 12-2 dismantling of India’s Neetu.
Working over the Asian’s midriff, Taylor followed those body shots with quick hooks from either hand while also countering each missed Neetu punch with a speedy southpaw strike.
Kom, India’s boxing prodigy, was even more impressive while ending her bout with Aussie Jenny Smith in the first round, taking a comfortable 9-0 lead before the referee had enough.
Smith probably had enough of it too after receiving two standing eight counts and several blinding combinations.
Up next for Kom in the round of eight is Wales’ Lynsey Holdaway, who narrowly beat Italy’s Valeria Calabrese 3-1 on points. North Korea’s Asian champ Kim Myong Sim, Steluta Duta of Romania and Kazakhstan’s Nazgul Boranbayeva also progressed to the quarters.
In the 54 kg category, World and European queen Karolina Michalczuk of Poland also safely advanced and so too did Russia’s Yelena Savelyeva, but highly-rated Chinese Zhang Qin was upset 8-3 by Nesthy Petecio of the Philippines.
The Caribbean’s woeful winless campaign continued when Trini Leeann Boodram had her 60 kg fight stopped prematurely against Adriana Araujo of Brazil after trailing 15-1 on points.
