BOXING AIBA WORLD YOUTH CHAMPIONSHIPS:IRELAND'S JOE Ward claimed his second world title in 12 months following a comfortable win over Australian middleweight Damien Hooper at the AIBA World Youth Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan, yesterday.
Ward, who won light middleweight gold at the 2009 World Junior Championships in Armenia last May, beat the Queenslander 6-1 in the 75kg final to become a two-weight world champion.
But while Ward was celebrating a unique double, there was disappointment for Belfast’s Ryan Burnett, who lost 9-4 to home favourite Salman Alizada in yesterday’s 48kg final.
Ward and Burnett qualified for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games by virtue of reaching the semi-finals in Baku.
And Ward, who boxes out of the Moate club in Westmeath, says he is aiming for a hat-trick of golds at the 2010 Games.
He said: “I still can’t believe it and I think it will take a while for it to sink in that I’m a double world champion.
“I’m thrilled with the win and very proud to be taking home gold for Ireland from this tournament.
“When I looked at the draw out here I thought it would be very hard to win it because I was definitely on the tough side of the draw.
“But I still managed to come through it all. I beat the Cuban and I beat the Russian and I beat everyone they put in front of me out here.
“The next one up is the Youth Olympics and I am confident that I will win gold at that tournament also.”
Ward, who scored two points in every round against Hooper, was also full of praise for Irish coaches Jim Moore and Jimmy Payne following his win at the Serhedchi Sports Stadium.
He added: “I sat down with my coaches Jim Moore and Jimmy Payne and we devised a plan to beat him (Hooper) and I stuck to that and it worked out perfectly for me.
“I would like to thank everyone involved with the Irish team and my team-mates for all the help they have given me throughout the tournament.”
Irish coach Moore said they were thrilled with the win – but he reckons that Ireland should be coming home with two gold medals.
“Joe boxed magnificently and we’re thrilled with the win. He beat the best in the world in Baku and he totally deserved his gold medal,” said Moore.
“Ryan boxed brilliantly also. I thought that Ryan won his final. Ryan conceded two points after getting a public warning for dropping his head in the third.
“But the Azerbaijani lad kept pulling Ryan’s head down. It was a disgraceful decision and I definitely thought that Ryan deserved the gold.
“It has been a very tough tournament all round for our entire squad.
“They represented their country with pride in Baku and they can all be very proud of their achievements.”
The Irish squad are due to arrive in Dublin Airport at 1.20pm today.
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