It has been good day for the Irish Elite squad in Bulgaria, where three of the four fighters won their quarter-finals to secure medals at the European Championships.
Joe Ward was the last of the squad to step into the ring today and the light-heavyweight dominated his quarter-final this evening – winning on all three cards as he cruised into the semi-finals.
Michael Conlan and Dean Walsh have also guaranteed themselves bronze medals after winning during the afternoon session.
Conlan once-again demonstrated why he’s the favourite to be crowned bantamweight champion as he defeated Frederik Jensen of Denmark, while Walsh landed his first medal at a major international championship after a unanimous decision against his Hungarian opponent.
The wins mean that Ward and Walsh have now joined Conlan in qualifying for October’s World Championships and Olympic qualifiers in Qatar.
Adam Nolan was the unfortunate odd-man-out today.
The welterweight, who had defeated the top seed in the previous round, admitted afterwards that he had run out of steam during his fight against Pavel Kastramin of Belarus.
Nolan’s quest for a major medal continues, however he could still qualify for the Worlds – if Kastramin wins his semi-final on Friday.