Classy Kurt Walker closes in on medal at Commonwealth Games

Kurt Walker moved to within one win of a medal today at the Commonwealth Games on the Gold Coast.

The Lisburn bantamweight defeated home favourite Jack Bowen in Australia, prevailing against the 2015 Commonwealth Youth gold medalist following a cagey contest.

Walker had been sparring with Bowen in the lead-up to the Games and claimed he was handling the Antipodean with relative ease. However, fighting an Aussie in Australia, there was nothing to be taken for granted.

It was tactical throughout, and it was European bronze medalist Walker who landed the cleaner shots to take a deserved win – prevailing 30-27 on four cards, with the Indian judge giving Bowen a 29-28 verdict.

Walker will box for bronze on Tuesday morning at around 9:30am against a to-be-confirmed opponent.

There is one more Irish fighter in action tonight/this morning, with Monkstown welter Aidan Walsh getting his campaign underway at around 5:00am versus Pakistani Gul Zaib.

It will then be the early hours of Sunday [5:30am] until Steven Donnelly takes on Sierra Leone’s Gibilla Kamara in the middleweight last 16, with Kristina O’Hara then going for light flyweight bronze and Sean McComb taking on Luke McCormack in the light welter Last 16 at the more reasonable times of 9:30am and 11:15am respectively.

All times are Irish time, the Gold Coast is nine hours ahead of Ireland.