Galway’s Gabriel Dossen suffered an agonising loss today as his European under 22 Boxing Dreams ended at the quarter-final stage.
The Olympic Boxing Club fighter suffered a split decision loss to Georgia’s Giorgi Kharabadze in Romania this afternoon.
Gabriel Dossen lost out in his bid for at least bronze at the European u/22 Championship in Targu, Jui, Romania this afternoon.
The Galway southpaw, in against Georgian middle Giorge Kharabadze for a place in the… https://t.co/mun2rBt1th
— IABA (@IABABOXING) March 29, 2018
Dossen was slight favourites following his World and European Youth bronze medals in 2016 and 2017 but Kharabadze also carried a strong reputation having previously won a continental junior gold medal.
The first round was very tight when Dossen trying to keep at arm’s length but the Georgian got on top in the early stages of Round Two before Dossen mounted a comeback.
It looked like the 18-year-old Galwegian was in the driving seat in the final round but Kharabadze did just enough with a late flurry to convince the majority of the five judges that he deserved to advance to the semi-finals.
While disappointed, it hasn’t been a bad effort from Dossen who was forced to move up to the 75kg middleweight division after a weights mix-up prior to January’s national championship. His victory qualifying him for the Europeans means he’ll have options in the year ahead.
Gabriel Dossen is the new National U22 75KG #BoxingChampion. He won in a convincing manner lastnight @ #DublinNationalStadium.🥊🥊He has qualified for the U22 Championships in Romania in March.Were proud to have him @GTIGALWAY in our #BusinessStudies class.https://t.co/4uMWIRNrWk pic.twitter.com/ObNYN2OVmd
— Galway Technical Institute (@GTIGALWAY) January 28, 2018
The recognised welterweight has four Irish titles and will aim to get back into the 69kg bracket before attempting to win his first Elite crown in November. And success there will allow him compete in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics qualifiers.
Ireland will bring home at least two medals from the event as Amy Broadhurst and Aoife O’Rourke have reached the final four in the 60kg and 75kg categories respectively.
