By Stephen Barry
Cork boxer Christina Desmond has claimed a huge scalp at the Women’s World Championships by defeating England’s Commonwealth gold medallist Sandy Ryan.
Ryan, who has also won a World silver and two European bronze medals, was favoured to win the last-32 bout in the welterweight division but lost out on a split decision, 4-1.
Desmond, from Cill na Martra, pressed forward from the start in the Siberian city of Ulan-Ude, bookending the first rounds with power punches to assert an early advantage.
A scrappier second round saw Desmond receive a controversial warning from the referee for slapping to undo much of her good work.
However, two clean lefts got her off to the perfect start in the final round, and she pressed home her dominance late on to convince the judges.
Two judges scored it 29-27 for Desmond, two scored it 28-28, while the other gave it to Ryan, 27-29.
Her second win in Russia sees Desmond into a last-16 bout against fifth seed Myrian Da Silva, from Canada, next Wednesday.