Aoife O’Roruke advanced to the quarter-finals of the Olympic boxing tournament after a split decision victory over Vitoyia Kebikava of Belarus.
O’Rourke was always in control of the bout, however judge three scored the contest in the Belarus favour in somewhat of a surprise.
The Roscommon native was caught out moments after the bell with Kebikava connecting with an excellent right hook.
From then on O’Roruke was composed and controlled and produced an excellent second minute of the first landing very crisp right hook shots on two or three occasions.
The opening two minutes of the second round followed similar lines with O’Rourke displaying speed and power with good crisp right shots landing on Kebikava.
The final minute of the second round was the worst in the contest for O’Rourke who became ragged and allowed the Belarusian to take some control, including connecting with a number of right hooks.
However by the beginning of the third round there was too much work left for Kebikava to produce and O’Roruke again controlled the round and rarely was left relying on her defence.
The judges awarded O’Rourke a split decision victory, 30-25, 30-24, 28-29, 30-27, 30-27.
