Natasha Jonas is guaranteed at least a bronze medal after making the semi-finals of the European Women’s Boxing Championships in Bucharest although Olympic champion Nicola Adams fell at the quarter-final stage.
Jonas, who won world lightweight bronze two years ago in Qinhuangdao, secured herself a medal in Romania thanks to a unanimous victory over Italy’s Valentina Alberti.
Fighting in the light-welterweight division, she will contest her semi-final on Friday and the 29-year-old admitted she was feeling good in the ring.
“I feel like I am starting to get my best form back now after a mixed start to the year,” she said.
“It is great to have secured another major medal, however the competition is still ongoing so I am just focusing on my next bout and ensuring I go as far as possible in this tournament.”
Earlier in the day, Adams suffered her first defeat for over two years when she lost to Stoyka Petrova in the flyweight quarter-final.
The Olympic champion had recovered from a slow start to finish the bout the stronger but all three judges awarded the win to her Bulgarian opponent.
Adams said: “Although I was not at my best, I felt I had done enough to go through however sometimes the judges just do not see it your way. It was a close bout and unfortunately it did not go for me.
“The most important thing is to come back stronger than ever and my priority now is to make sure I am in the best possible condition for the Commonwealth Games and the World Championships later in the year.”
Also joining Jonas in Friday’s semis is Stacey Copeland who enjoyed a points win over Russian Irina Poteyeva in the welterweight division on Tuesday.
© Sportsbeat 2014