Moylette and Ward Win Gold

Irish boxing squad

Mayo boxer Ray Moylette won a gold medal at the European Senior Championships in Ankara, Turkey, today and he was followed soon after by Westmeath’s Joe Ward.

Moylette beat England's Thomas Stalker 18 points to 10 in the light welterweight class.

The 21-year-old, from Westport, Co. Mayo, was also a gold medal winner at the 2008 AIBA World Youth Championships in Mexico.

And 17-year-old Ward, from the Moate Boxing Club in Westmeath, claimed a fantastic 20-12 victory over Russian Nikita Ivanov to land the gold in the light-heavyweight division.

Moylette, 21, who boxes with the St Anne's BC in Westport, shared the first round 5-5 with Stalker.

Working behind his trademark high guard, he fired quality body shots and left and right hooks in the second to command a 12-8 advantage at the bell.

He went on to add another six points in the third.

Ward got off to a poor start against the Russian, but came storming back in the last minute of the first round to win 7-3.

He landed a number of good combinations to add to Ivanov’s problems, taking the round 8-3 to create a nine-point gap going into the final three minutes.

Ward adapted a defensive strategy and used the ring to further frustrate the Russian.

He showed experience beyond his years to close out the fight.

Ward claimed gold by a margin of eight points (20-12).

The Irish Boxing squad are due to arrive to Dublin Airport at 10.20am on  Saturday, June 25th.