His face took a bit of a beating in the process, but Donegal’s Jason Quigley will care little about that after securing a second Irish gold medal at the European Amateur Boxing Championships in Minsk today.
The Donegal boxer claimed gold in the middleweight division after a closely fought tussle with number two seed Bogdan Juratoni of Romania but held on to win the fight on a scoreline of 30-27, 28-29, 29-28 despite a strong showing from Juratoni in the second round.
Quigley’s two black eyes are a testament to the fact that he didn’t have it all his own way but he was a deserving winner and helped cap another great day for Irish boxing after John Joe Nevin had earlier claimed gold in the bantamweight division and became number one in the AIBA World Rankings in the process.
Nevin’s meeting with Mykola Butsenko was a far more comfortable affair, with the Mullingar man putting on a typically classy display to take the fight on a 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 scoreline, sealing Ireland’s first gold medal of the day in Minsk.
Michael Conlan had to settle for silver after losing on a split decision to Andrew Selby of Wales, a boxer he has had some titanic battles with in the past. This contest was as evenly fought as the past battles between the two but it was Selby who emerged victorious on a 28-29 29-28 30-27 scoreline.
Earlier in the day, Paddy Barnes had to withdraw from his lightweight final because of a broken nose and will still claim a silver medal and although it wasn’t a perfect day, it was still yet another remarkable one for Irish boxing coming off the back of the magnificent performance in last summer’s Olympic Games.
Pics via Inpho/Cathal Noonan
