Steven Donnelly

Steven Donnelly
Statistics
Rated at Welterweight
Height 1.82 m (5 ft 11 1⁄2 in)
Born (1988-09-07) 7 September 1988
Ballymena, Northern Ireland
Stance Orthodox
Medal record
Steven Donnelly
Medal record
Representing  Northern Ireland
Commonwealth Games
2014 Glasgow Welterweight

Steven Gerard Donnelly (born 7 September 1988) is an Irish amateur boxer from Ballymena, Northern Ireland who has qualified to represent Ireland at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Boxing career

Donnelly represented Northern Ireland at the 2010 Commonwealth Games held in New Dehli, India. Competing in the light welterweight division he faced Australian Luke Woods in the first round and was eliminated from the competition after a 0–10 loss.[1][2] Following his defeat Donnelly was subsequently sent home from the Games by team management after drinking alcohol and causing a disturbance in the athlete's village.[1] After this he became disillusioned with the sport and quit boxing for two years before eventually returning to the All Saints Boxing Club in Ballymena.[2]

At the 2014 Commonwealth Games held in Glasgow, Scotland, Donnelly was again selected for the Northern Ireland team. Competing in the welterweight division he defeated Hasan Asif of Pakistan in the round of 32, Oscar Finau of Tonga in the round of 16 and Canadian Custio Clayton in the quarterfinals.[3] In his semifinal Donnelly was beaten on a split judge's decision by India’s Mandeep Jangra, meaning he finished with a bronze medal.[4]

Donnelly took part in the 2015 World Series of Boxing, representing the Polish Hussars team.[5] He won five of his six fights, beating Kazakhstan's Madiyar Ashkeyev, Brian Ceballo of the United States, Puerto Rican Nicklaus Flaz Guillen, Alberto Palmetta of Argentina and Italy's Dario Morello, but was defeated by Venezuelan Gabriel Maestre and suffered a walkover defeat after visa issues meant he was unable to travel to fight Azerbaijan's Parviz Baghirov.[5][6][7]

Donnelly qualified to compete in the men's welterweight event at the 2016 Summer Olympics to be held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, via his fourth-place ranking in the World Series of Boxing.[8] Only the top two ranked athletes were due to qualify through the rankings but two of the athletes ranked ahead of him qualified by alternate methods, Morocco’s Mohammad Rabii secured his place through the 2015 AIBA World Boxing Championships and Andrey Zamkovoy won the Russian championships to confirm his place.[8][7]

Donnelly was found placing bets on boxing events at the 2016 Olympic Games, violating the IOC rules. Accordingly, he was sanctioned with a severe reprimand by the Disciplinary Commission of the IOC.[9]

Personal life

Donnelly was born on 7 September 1988 in Ballymena, Northern Ireland.[3]

References

  1. 1 2 "Boxer Donnelly fighting back after personal setbacks". Ballymena Times. 18 January 2013. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  2. 1 2 Beacom, Steven (1 August 2014). "Donnelly has already made up for Delhi misery, but now he wants gold". Belfast Telegraph. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  3. 1 2 "Steven Donnelly Biography". Official Website of the Glasgow 2014 Commonwealth Games. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  4. ↑ "Bronze for Donnelly after semi-final defeat". Ballymena Times. 1 August 2014. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  5. 1 2 McGoldrick, Sean (2 December 2015). "Steven Donnelly becomes fourth Irish boxer to qualify for Rio Olympics". Independent (Ireland). Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  6. ↑ "Welter Donnelly Steven". World Series of Boxing. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  7. 1 2 Loughran, Neil (20 November 2015). "Demotivated Steven Donnelly considers boxing future". The Irish News. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  8. 1 2 "Welterweight Steven Donnelly qualifies for Rio 2016 Olympics". BBC Sport. 2 December 2015. Retrieved 23 May 2016.
  9. ↑ "IOC sanctions three athletes for betting on Olympic competitions in Rio 2016" (PDF). International Olympic Committee. Retrieved 28 September 2016.
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