Fifth World Championships beckon for Smith

Damian McCarney

A resurgent Ceire Smith has begun preparations for the AIBA Women’s World Championships, where she will represent her country at the prestigious event for the fifth time.

The Cavan southpaw is currently at a four day training camp at the Sport Ireland Institute, Abbotstown in preparation for the Championships in Ulan-Ude, Russia, from October 3-13.
Next week the five strong ladies Irish team, headed by team manager Bernard Dunne and coach Zauri Antia, will intensify their preparations with an International Training Camp in the Olympic Training Centre in Kienbaum, Germany, where Smith will spar against boxers from other top-level international teams. From there they will travel east to Ulan-Ude.
To make the Irish team is a great achievement for Smith as she has only returned to action in recent months after a long lay-off due to injury sustained in the World Championships in India last November.
“It's fantastic to be back and competing at the top international level,” she enthuses during a brief phone interview on Tuesday morning last, while her Irish team mates were warming up.
“I would have had an assessment, as opposed to a box-off and got selected as the number one to travel to Russia,” she explained.
Her most recent championship bout came last month in the European Championships in Spain, where she put in an amazing performance against world number two Buse Naz Çakıroglu.
While Cavan Boxing Club coach Brian McKeown felt that his charge should have shaded the decision, Smith herself is more philosophical about the encounter. “I don't think the scores reflected the fight, but I don't think I won it. The girl was just quicker, cuter and faster on the day.”
 

In with the best

She takes great heart from rattling the Turk, as Çakıroglu is the number one seed at 51kg. She claimed gold in the Europeans, was awarded best boxer across all the weights, and is currently ranked number one in Europe and number two in the world.
“I was in with the best in the world, and certainly the best in Europe, so it only makes me want to work harder to see how close I am – I'm not that far off, I'll keep working hard.”
The World Championships are usually held every two years, but this event was brought forward as next year is an Olympic year.
“Of course I'd love to medal at a World Championships but it's all leading to the bigger picture I suppose,” says Smith.
That bigger picture is the Tokyo Olympics 2020 on the horizon.
On her return from Russia, she will compete in the Nationals at the end of November, which is the first step in Olympic qualifying. If that hurdle is overcome then she will head into Olympic qualifiers in London and Paris in Spring.
However, Smith has more pressing concerns with the World Championships. She will discover who she will fight at the draw, which is made after weigh-in.
Smith will be hoping for a bit more luck as she has an unenviable record of meeting championship favourites in the opening bouts of tournaments; something of which she is conscious, but unconcerned.
“At the end of the day you are going to meet the best in the medals stages – it would just be nice to meet them at the medal stages, as opposed to the first fight. I have been on both sides – I have went into the Feliks Stamm multi-nations in Poland a few years ago and got the world champion in my first fight and beat her.
“So you know, everyone is beatable on the day.”