Waterford’s Kelyn Cassidy has seen his World Boxing Championship medal dreams come to an end, despite a spirited performance against Belarusian boxer Aliaksei Alfiourau in tonight’s quarter-final of the men’s light heavyweight division.
The Saviours Crystals man was bidding for a bronze medal having defeated Mexico’s Arriaga Olvera before conquering Olympian Shabbos Negmatulloev of Tajikistan in the last 16.
Coming up against a fellow southpaw, a good start was crucial and so that proved for the impressive Alfiorau who drew blood from the nose of Cassidy early on, deservedly taking the first round 10-9 on all five of the judges score cards as he brought the impetus to the ring.
Cassidy grew into the fight and landed some impressive counter punches on his opponent in the second round, but Alfiorau was able to dictate the tactics with his advantage on the score cards, fighting with aplomb on the back foot and landing some nice combinations of his own.
While the second round was a noted improvement from the man in the red corner, when the judges cards again read 10-9, it meant Kelyn had to essentially land a knockout blow to defeat his Belarusian counterpart and land his medal. While Cassidy did bring the fire and kitchen sink to the third round, landing many a punch and drawing blood from the Belarusian, it wasn’t enough to convince the judges - with European U-23 medalist Alfiorau adding to that medal with a bronze at minimum in his first World Seniors.
Despite a remarkable effort, it wasn’t to be for Kelyn Cassidy, who represented Ireland and Waterford with distinction. Today marks just one month from when he landed an Irish elite title, and hopes for the future of the talented Saviours Crystals man have been brought sky high by his showings in Belgrade.
Team Ireland leave Serbia empty handed, but Cassidy’s head and hands held highest of all.
