Joel Ward falls short in bid for world championship gold
Friday 16 October 2015 08:47, UK
Irishman Joe Ward fell short in his bid to land light-heavyweight gold at the World Amateur Boxing Championships in Doha when he was outpointed by Cuba's Julio Cesar la Cruz in the final.
Ward went into the fight as the underdog but produced a bold, aggressive display, only to founder on the fine defensive work produced by the defending champion.
La Cruz had the better of the first and second rounds, although Ward was able to land a few blows of his own.
Ward then found his groove in the third round and the Cuban needed attention for a cut above his eye.
But the AIBA boxer of the year was basically untroubled for most of the fight and claimed his third world title by a unanimous points decision.
However, Ward leaves with a silver medal and his fine efforts mean he has secured his berth at the Rio Olympics next year.
He said on www.rte.ie: "Overall, it's been a great championships. I'm going back with a silver medal and going to Rio.
"I'm going to learn from this now. All I can do is get better and improve with that fight and see how we go in the Olympic Games."
Michael Conlan was crowned Ireland's first men's AIBA world champion on Wednesday after a unanimous points victory over Uzbekistan's Murodjon Akhmadaliev in the bantamweight final.
