Brett McGinty advanced to the semi-finals of the National Elite Championships last night.
McGinty – a beaten finalists in these Championships in each of the last two years – overcame Kelyn Cassidy from Saviours Crystal.
The Oakleaf ABC middleweight, who has been suffering from a virus since losing to Fearghus Quinn in an Ulster Elite final last month, took a split decision, 3-2, win at the National Stadium.
McGinty and Cassidy were neck-and-neck for much of the contest, but it was the St Johnston man who came good in the final round to nick the decision in the quarter-final.
McGinty was pipped by Dean Walsh in the 2017 welterweight final before being edged out by Michael Nevin in the 2018 middleweight decider.
McGinty now faces the highly-touted Gabriel Dossen in a semi-final next weekend.
Last night, Dossen downed the reigning champion, Nevin, also on a 3-2.
Quinn will come up against Emmett Brennan from Glasnevin in the other middleweight semi.
Dungloe ABC southpaw Matthew McCole was edged out by Keith Flavin from Paulstown at light-welterweight.
Flavin took a narrow 3-2 split decision verdict and it was agony for McCole.
The previous evening, McCole defeated Dylan Duffy from Pegasus thanks to an impressive display, earning him a clean sweep of the judges’ pencils.
Last month, McCole lost the U22 light-welterweight final, when he fell to Pierce O’Leary from Dublin Docklands.
Two reigning champions made their exits last night with Wayne Kelly, a Portlaoise ABC colleague of Nevin, lost out to James McGivern from Antrim in a light-welterweight bout.
On Friday night, the returned Donna Barr meets Ciara Walsh of Smithfield in a 48kgs semi-final. Fleck, her conqueror from the Ulster Elites, takes on Carol Coughlan of Monkstown in the other.
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