Updated at 17.51
IRISH BOXERS RAY MOYLETTE and Joe Ward both reached the final of the European Championships in Ankara, Turkey earlier today.
Ward defeated Imre Szello of Hungary comfortably, despite the two fighters appearing well-matched in the early stages of the bout.
Hrvoje Sep of Croatia or Russia’s Nikita Ivanov will fight Ward in the light-heavyweight final.
Moylette defeated Hajiliyev Heybatulla of Azerbaijan in the light-welterweight semi-final of the competition.
The fight was tighly-contested, with the pair level on points after the first two rounds, with the scores at 4-4 and 9-9 respectively, before Moylette eventually overcame his opponent by a score of 18-16.
Following his success, coach Billy Walsh praised the 20-year-old.
“He is fantastic, he was so relaxed,” he said. “It was outstanding, it will rank up there with any Irish performances that we’ve had down the years.”
The fighter, who won a gold medal at the 2008 AIBA World Youth Championships in Mexico, will face Thomas Stalker in the final on Friday.
Stalker’s path to the final was considerably easier than Moylette’s, as he received a walkover in the semi-final after his opponent, Vincenzo Mangiacapre, was forced to pull out due to injury.
Both Moylette and Stalker have moved from lightweight to light-welterweight over the last two years.
