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Updated / Saturday, 24 Jun 2017 17:38

Joe Ward lived up to his top-seed status, as the Irish champion secured the gold medal at the European Championships in Kharkiv.

The Moate man was crowned European champion for the third time as he overpowered Russias Muslim Gadzhimagomedov in the final of the light-heavyweight division.

Having secured the title in 2011 and 2015, Ward was barely troubled all week and made no mistake in the deciding bout to take gold home for Ireland.

Ward eased into the fight against the taller Russian and used his strong right leading arm to work Gadzhimagomedov out and pick his punches.

The Irishman landed some scoring punches without getting anything significant back in what was quite a cagey opening three minutes.

The tempo increased in the second round as the Russian picked up the pace, but his enthusiasm lacked the quality to trouble Ward, who remained calm and picked off some good scores with his quick right jab.

The round continued in the same manner as the fight turned into a scrappy affair, however, the experienced Ward scored well to the body of his visibly tiring opponent.

Ward walked off at the end of the second round with his arm raised in triumph, obviously quite content with his work thus far.

And the Irish champion maintained control of the centre of the ring for the final round as the Russian kept up his energetic approach without troubling the now three-time European champion.

Naturally, a brawl broke out for the final minute as Gadzhimagomedov looked to impress the watching judges, but they were not for turning as Ward secured the verdict on all five scorecards.

That ends Ireland's involvement in the tournament and the team return home with one gold and two bronze medals, won by Kurt Walker and Brendan Irvine, while Sean McComb reached the quarter-final and joins the medal winners in the world championships in August.

Joe Ward definitely was the better boxer over the three rounds and definitely landed more quality shots," former Irish amateur champion and now professional Eric Donovan told RTE Radio 1's Saturday Sport.

"The Russian pushed forward and had some success himself, but in terms of quality and consistency throughout the three rounds, Ward definitely looked the better of the two boxers.

"Three times European champion is incredible stuff, and he's still just 23-years-age."

Donovan believes that the team's performance will give High Performance director Bernard Dunne a welcome boost amidst all the current turmoil outside the ring in Irish amateur boxing.

"Considering relationships and how they've gone over the last while with Sport Ireland, the IABA and the High Performance, these guys were going to the European Championships with things almost in turmoil.

"But we produced the goods and are coming back with a gold medal, two bronzes and four boxers qualified for the world championships in August, so all-in-all it's been a success."

Read more:
Joe Ward wins European gold in Ukraine - RTE.ie