Turkish delight as Ward and Joyce close in on Olympics

European light-heavyweight champion Joe Ward got Ireland’s campaign off to a flying start on the opening day of the final Olympic qualifiers for European male boxers in Trabzon, Turkey yesterday.

The 18-year-old World number three hammered Sweden’s Kennedy Katende 16-6 to set up today’s last-16 clash with Turkey’s Bahran Muzaffer at the Hari Gur venue. Katende, who was beaten by Ireland’s Ken Egan in the final of the 2008 Olympic qualifiers in Athens, was 8-3 down going into the last frame of yesterday’s 81kg preliminary.

If Ward reaches the light-heavyweight final he will qualify for the London Olympics but he can also qualify if he reaches the semi-finals and is beaten by the eventual gold medallist.

“It was an excellent performance from Joe. He kept his cool and his composure against a very experienced opponent and did a very good job over the three rounds,” said IABA Director of Boxing Dominic O’Rourke.

Meanwhile, St Michael’s Athy lightweight David Oliver Joyce, who was 10-4 down after the first, recorded Ireland’s second win after Wales’ Joe Cordina was retired by his corner after taking two standing counts in the third.

Joyce now goes head-to-head with Germany’s Arthur Bril in the last-16 tomorrow in a repeat of last month’s Chemistry Cup quarter-final which Joyce won on a countback.

Ross Hickey, Adam Nolan, Tommy McCarthy and Con Sheehan will begin their quests for Olympic places today.

Hickey and McCarthy are facing tough tasks as they both must win gold to qualify for London as there are just two Olympic places available in the light-welter and heavyweight classes.

Tipperary super-heavy Con Sheehan, meanwhile, is in Turkey’s Muhammet Erkan Aci today, while Adam Nolan faces Polish welterweight Thomas Kot.

Sheehan and Nolan will qualify for London if they reach their respective finals, while a semi-final finish will suffice for Belfast’s Paddy Barnes in the light-flyweight class.

Barnes, a bronze medal winner at the 2008 Olympics and the 2010 European champion, meets Istvan Ungvari of Hungary tomorrow.

Darren O’Neill, John Joe Nevin and Michael Conlan have already qualified for the Olympics. 26 Olympic places are up for grabs at the Trabzon qualifiers.