Joe Ward joins Michael Conlan in European finals

A dominant performance from Joe Ward has seen the Westmeath man through to the gold medal match of the light-heavyweight division at the European Elite Championships in Bulgaria.

He put his Croatian opponent, Hrvoje Sep, away after a unanimous decision in the ring this evening.

Sep entered the contest as top seed but was well beaten by Ward, 29-28, 30-27, 29-28.

Michael Conlan also upgraded his bronze medal after a semi-final - he had a unanimous verdict victory over Italian Francesco Maietta.

Dean Walsh, meanwhile, was on the wrong end of a unanimous decision, losing 29-28 to Vitaly Dunaytev on all three judges’ cards.

It was a narrow loss to the number two seed, but Walsh will still go home with a bronze medal.