Joe Ward has glided his way to his third European Boxing Championship Gold in seven years after defeating Russia’s Muslim Gadzhimagomedov in the final in Kharkiv today.
Both fighters had cruised into the final stage having won all of their bouts unanimously but it was the Irish man who was to keep his incredible record in the competition.
The bout started evenly with Ward connecting some eye-catching shots to finish the slightly more confident of the two going into the second.
The fight got a little more scrappy as things progressed with both fighter’s opening up their bodies but again it was the Irish man who managed to finish the better off after multiple shots to the Russian's chest.
Gadzhimagomedov was chasing the match going into the final round and enjoyed some success but became sloppy with Ward taking full advantage and finishing the stronger again.
The Athlone man's win wasn't up for debate as all five judges awarded him the points on scorelines of 30:27 x3 and 29:28 x2 to confirm an incredible win.
Ward's run has been so good that he appeared to make Italian fighter Valentino Manfredoia cry in the first round of his semi-final yesterday.
Never saw that before...Joe Ward's opponent (Manfredonua of Italy) sobbing in his corner at the end of round 1. Resumed boxing in round 2!
— Paul McDermott (@pmcdisc) June 23, 2017
In other Irish news, yesterday Bantamweight Kurt Walker and Flyweight Brendan Irvine lost their respective semi-final fights meaning they will both be receiving bronze medals.
