Moate's Joe Ward advances with win over Polish opponent
By Kieran Galvin
Moate boxer Joe Ward marched into the last 16 of the World Elite Men’s Championships with a convincing win over Mateusz Tryc of Poland in Kazakhstan.
Ironically, it was in a bout against Tryc that Ward twisted his left knee during the European Championships in Belarus last June. That freak injury meant Ward had to retire from the tournament, but there were no such problems for the talented pugilist from Co. Westmeath yesterday (Sunday).
Ward's dominance over his Polish opponent resulted in a 30-27, 30-26, 30-27 victory in their light-heavyweight clash.
Interestingly, Ward is the only Irish boxer not from Ulster to make the last 16 of the World Championships.
Ward will now face Hungary’s Norbert Harsca tomorrow (Tuesday) for a place in the quarter-finals. Harcsa defeated Australian Dylan Hardy to set up a meeting with Ward.
The fight is due to take place on Tuesday afternoon in Almaty, Kazakhstan, where the time is five hours ahead of Irish time.
Having won World Championship gold medals at Junior (under-17) and Youth (under-19) levels, Ward won a European Senior title in 2011.
The Moate man needs to win two more fights in order to be guaranteed a coveted medal in the World Elite Men’s Championships.
*See this week's Westmeath Independent for more on Joe Ward's performances in the World Championships.