Irish boxer Dean Gardiner was "always confident" despite knockdown in Baku

Ireland's Dean Gardiner has claimed that he was "always confident" after advancing to the super heavy quarter-finals in Baku, despite being knocked down in the first round.

Gardiner overcame Italy's Guido Vianello in the last 16, scoring 29-28 on all three cards despite hitting the deck early on.

The Irishman recovered to win the next two rounds, and will now face France's Tony Yoka on Monday for a place in the semi-finals.

"I was always confident I could pull it back, the score, and when I got him with a standing count in the second round we knew we were back in it," said Gardiner, according to the official Baku 2015 website.

"He caught me with a rare shot (in the first round), I didn't know where I was for three or four seconds. I had a look at the few coaches in the corner and they said, 'Stay down for a few seconds'.

"It was grand after that. It probably did me a lot of good. I showed I could recover and stay strong."

Gardiner could potentially face Great Britain's Joe Joyce in the last four.