Kellie Harrington one fight away from gold in Bulgaria

Dubliner wins Friday’s semi-final to set up showdown with Mira Potkonen on Saturday

Kellie Harrington has the chance to mark her return to the ring with a gold medal after she progressed to the lightweight final of the Strandja multi-nations in Sofia, Bulgaria.

Harrington secured her place in Saturday’s final with an assured victory over home fighter Denica Eliseeva on Friday, guaranteeing at least a silver medal in the process.

The Dubliner won all three rounds in her semi-final bout and now faces Mira Potkonen - the Finnish fighter who dumped Katie Taylor out of the 2016 Rio Olympics - for gold.

"Excellent performance from Kellie," said Bernard Dunne, IABA high-performance director, after her victory.

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However Roscommon’s Aoife O’Rourke had to settle for a bronze medal after she was beaten in her middleweight semi-final by the USA’s Oshae Jones in a unanimous decision.

Saturday’s finals begin at 12pm (Irish time).

Strandja Multi-Nations Sofia, Bulgaria January 20th-25th

January 25th
Final
60kg Kellie Harrington (Ireland) versus Mira Potkonen (Finland)

January 24th
Semi-finals
60kg Kellie Harrington (Ireland) beat Denica Eliseeva (Bulgaria) 5-0
60kg Mira Potkonen (Finland) beat Agnes Alexiusson (Sweden) Pts
75kg Aoife O'Rourke (Ireland) lost to Naomi Graham (USA) 0-5
75kg Davina Michel (France) beat Anastasiia Chernoklenko (Ukraine) Pts