Ireland's Claire Grace opened her Word Championships in Jeju in impressive fashion with a unanimous points win over Romanian Christina Stancu.
The Irish welterweight, a bronze medal winner at this year’s European Championships in Bucharest, ripped into her taller opponent in all four rounds to earn a place in the second round against Turkey’s Gulzar Kara.
Grace came into the ring not long after Joanne Lambe went out of the competition and immediately began working her right jab, to which Stancu had little answer.
Her higher ranked opponent
Faster and more active than the Romanian, who was more settled in her stance but was a heavy hitter, Grace bravely took the lead diving in with right, left combinations.
While she took a few shots from the higher ranked Stancu, Grace quickly took the lead and forced Stancu to play catch up. That she never did, the Irish welterweight bravely maintaining the tempo right through to the fourth round, taking the occasional righthand but landing many more.
All the judges called it Ireland’s way with just one dark cloud on the horizon. Grace sustained a cut over her left eye, which required the doctor’s attention in the fourth round.
Her second round fight against Kara is scheduled for Wednesday.
Earlier disappointment
Ireland’s first venture in this year’s Women’s World Championships ended in disappointment when Ireland’s Joanne Lambe went out after her first bout, not long before Grace got her opportunity to make ammends.
The Carrickmacross featherweight went down on a unanimous points decision to China’s Qiong Lu after four high tempo rounds.
Lu was an aggressive go-forward operator, whose combinations were landing on the inexperienced Lambe from the first round.
Lambe was never in danger of not going the distance and landed on Lu, occasionally forcing her into the corners. But it was the Irish girl backing off for most of the eight minute bout.
Lu’s combinations and big right backhand clearly impressed the judges as well as the referee with Lambe forced to take a standing count in the second round.
’You could see her go all the way’
She needed a big last two rounds but Lu, courageously coming forward and landing her combinations, never dropped the aggressive tempo, going through to the second round on all the judges cards.
"She was getting them out and they were fairly quick as well," said coach Pete Taylor of Lu. "I'd say you could see that Chinese girl going all the way in this tournament. It was a tough tie for Joanne."
