Team Ireland’s Jon McConnell has secured, at least, a European Elite Championship bronze medal.
He boxed a tight, testy Quarter Final against Gabriele Guidi Rontani of Italy, the reigning Mediterranean Games champion and a World Boxing Cup China bronze medalist at 75kg. Both boxers had points deducted in the 3rd round. Jon won on a 3-2, scored: 28:27; 27:28; 27:28: 28:27; 27:28. The reigning Commonwealth Games champion boxes his semi final on Wednesday, against Azerbaijan’s Nabi Isgandarov, a World Boxing Cup Brazil bronze medalist.
Speaking to Boxing Ireland’s Grainne Walsh at ringside, he said “I’m over the moon. It was some fight, it was a close fight. He just wouldn’t stop. It was dirty enough with the head and stuff but I just kept my composure in that last round. I got dragged into a fight a bit in that last 30 seconds but I knew I had won. Then a point off, I didn’t know what way it would go and then he got a point off, and rightly so for the head, but in the semi-final. Let’s go!”
Jon adds “I just want to say that Jude’s performance today I was looking at it in a coffee shop, I had it on the phone. It just gave me a lift. The way he came out in that second round, I just looked at it and just went I’m going to win today. Fair play to my team-mates as well, shouting in the stands for me. I’m just glad to get the win for the team.
And that powerhouse performance by Jude Gallagher sees him through to the European Elite Championship quarter finals. He contested his lightweight Last 16 contest against European medalist, France’s Lounes Hamraoi, and was down on four cards in the first round. The Tyrone man rallied in the second and third, forcing standing counts, and won by RSC in the 3rd. He boxes for a medal in Wednesday’s Afternoon Session against Cuban-born Spanish boxer, Ewart Andrés Marín Hernández
Speaking to Grainne after his bout he said “Delighted. Against a very, very good opponent. I went out and tried to box him in the first round. He was a counter-punching southpaw and he sort of edged me in the first I was a wee bit slow. Had to change the tactics in the second round. Brought the fight to him, hurt him early with a body shot. A count in the second, and finished in the third. Delighted.”
He added “I have that in my arsenal. I can dig deep, I can put the hands up and curl the toes up, go and grab it with both hands if I have to. I sort of did therein the second. I sort of hurt him in the body, kept the foot on the gas and kept it out of the judges hands.’
Michaela Walsh has won through to the medal stages of the European Elite Championships. The double Olympian and 2026 Commonwealth Games silver medalist was dominant throughout her 57kg Last 16 contest against Montengro’s Bojana Gojkovic. Her 5-0 win was scored 27:30; 27:30; 27:30; 27:30; 27:30. She’ll take on Bulgarian, Stanimira Petrova, in the fight for a medal in Wednesday’s evening session. Petrova is a triple Olympian (Rio, Tokyo, Paris), and a 2014 World Champion. She’s just defeated the World and Paris silver medalist, Julia Szeremeta Walsh and Petrova have met twice before, at the 2019 European Games in Minsk, and at a Tokyo qualifier in 2021. They have one win, apiece.
Speaking to Grainne fresh out of the ring, she says “I feel amazing. Obviously, boxing on the day you don’t know how you’re going to perform. You can prepare as best as you can and have the right tactics but ultimately, it’s how you show up on the day. I’m just really thankful that I showed up today and got the performance.’
Michaela has had a seven day wait for her opening bout. She says “It is challenging. Lucky for me, I’ve experienced this before. It happened to me in the Olympic Games. It happened just recently at the Commonwealth Games. I think I was 15 days without a spar in the Commonwealth Games. I’m used to it…Its just trying to conserve energy, not doing too much”.
Not to be for Kellie McLoughlin in her European Elite Championship 60kg Last 16 contest. She put in a brave performance against multiple European U22/U23 medalist, France’s Sthélyne Grosy. The 4-1 decision went to France, on a scoreline of 30:27; 27:30; 30:27; 30:27; 30:27.
Team Ireland’s Gavin Rafferty exits, despite a game, brave performance in his 75kg European Elite Championship Last 16 contest. He boxed Mateusz Urban of Poland, a World Boxing Cup China bronze medalist. Urban was deducted a point in the last round, and the final scores were: 27:29; 27:29; 27:29; 27:29; 27:29
406 boxers are competing in this World Boxing ranking event, drawn from 40 federations: Albania, Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, England, Estonia, Finland, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Kosovo, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Moldova, Montenegro, the Netherlands, North Macedonia, Norway, Poland, Portugal, World Boxing Refugee Team, Romania, Russia, Serbia, Slovakia, Spain, Switzerland, Sweden, Turkey and Ukraine.
The complete Championship draw is available here.
All images: Magrit Kincses. The complete album is available here
How to Watch
Eurovision Sport will broadcast the complete championships here: https://eurovisionsport.com/en/home
The RTE Player is streaming Ring A sessions in which Team Ireland box here: https://www.rte.ie/player/
Day Five
The business end of the Championships begins in Sofia on Tuesday; five Team Ireland boxers vie for medals.
51kg Paris Olympian Daina Moorehouse opens proceedings in Ring A’s Afternoon Session. She boxes her quarter final against World and European Games bronze medalist, Spain’s Laura Fuentes Fernandez. Daina last contested against the Spanish boxer at the 2025 World Boxing Championships, and lost on a dreaded 3-2 split. That bout will begin at 11:30am.
70kg Evelyn Igharo takes on England’s Chantelle Reid in Bout 5 of the same ring and session. Reid, a Paris Olympian, was a bronze medalist at the 2025 World Boxing Championships, and won silver at the weight at the 2026 Commonwealth Games. Evelyn is expected in the ring at around 12:30pm.
Paris Olympian, heavyweight 90kg Jack Marley boxes for a medal in Bout 9 of Ring B’s Afternoon Session. He meets Georgia’s Georgii Kushitashvli, a 2022 European and 2023 World medalist. That bout is expected to get underway at approx 1:45pm.
Reigning 75kg World Champion Aoife O’Rourke makes her tournament debut in Bout 3 of Ring A’s Evening Session. She takes on Poland’s Agata Kaczmarska, the reigning 80+kg World Champion. Aoife will be in action at around 4:30pm.
Her sister, 2022 World champion and 2025 World silver medalist, Lisa, boxes in Bout 5 of the same ring and session. She’ll contest against 2025 World Boxing Championships silver medalist, England’s Emily Asquith, for a place on the podium.
Schedules Ring A, Afternoon Session | Ring B, Afternoon Session | Ring A, Evening Session
Team Ireland
48kg Shannon Sweeney, St. Anne’s BC, Mayo
51kg Daina Moorehouse, Enniskerry BC, Wicklow
54kg Jennifer Lehane, DCU BC, Dublin
57kg Michaela Walsh, Holy Family BC, Belfast
60kg Kellie McLoughlin, St. Catherine’s BC, Dublin
60kg Jude Gallagher, Two Castles Olympic, Tyrone
65kg Dean Clancy, Sean McDermott BC, Leitrim
70kg Evelyn Igharo, Clann Naofa BC, Louth
70kg Jon McConnell, Holy Trinity BC, Belfast
75kg Aoife O’Rourke, Castlerea BC, Roscommon
75kg Gavin Rafferty, Dublin Docklands BC
80kg Lisa O’Rourke, Castlerea BC, Roscommon
80+kg Cliona D’Arcy, Tobair Pheadair BC, Galway
90kg Jack Marley, Monkstown BC, Dublin
Support Staff
Team Manager| Jon Mackey
Head Coach | Damian Kennedy
Coach | James Doyle
Coach | Jay Delaney
Coach | Liam Cunningham
Coach | Lynne McEnery
Physiotherapist| Rob Tuomey
Doctor | Dr. Jim Clover
Psychologist | Dr. Paul Aherne
Analyst | Alan Swanton
HOPS | Paul Carragher
About the European Elite Championships
- This is the first European Boxing Elite Championships under the banner of European Boxing and within the World Boxing family
- This is a World Boxing ranking event, with points award from 1st to 8th place: 1st Place -800 points, 2nd Place -500 points; 3rd Place -300 points; 4th Place -300 points and 150 points for those finishing 5th-8th place.
- 40 national federations are eligible to compete in the tournament.
- Competition dates: 17th-25th September. There is no rest day at this tournament. Quarter finals take place on September 22nd and 23rd. , semi finals on September 24th. Finals and medal ceremonies will take place on during the second session on September 24th, and on September 25th.
- Afternoon Sessions will begin at 12pm, Irish time – Evening Sessions will get underway at 4pm.
- Competition venue: Asics Arena, Sofia, Bulgaria