Ward just falls short in bid to claim world title in Hamburg
IRISH captain Joe Ward lost out in his quest to dethrone light-heavy kingpin Julio La Cruz in the AIBA World Elite Championships 81kg final in Hamburg, Germany last night.
The elusive Cuban, who beat Ward in the 2015 decider in Qatar, struck gold for the fourth successive time on a 30-27, 30-27, 29-28, 29-28, 29-28 unanimous decision after three, three-minute rounds.
Ward started the brightest and the current Olympic champion was on the floor after a tangle of legs inside the opening 30 seconds.
The Westmeath southpaw’s tactics were to up the tempo and upset his opponent’s rhythm, but the Cuban probably shaded the first round despite the shaky start.
Ward continued walking his man down in the second and third frames and had his moments with big hooks to the head and body in both stanzas, but La Cruz, showed superb reflexes to mostly avoid any ordnance coming his way whilst accumulating points on the counter, took both rounds to become a four-time world champion.
‘He’s an exceptional talent but Joe caught him with some good shots and he performed well against a very awkward and experienced opponent,’ said Irish coach John Conlan, whose son Michael remains the only Irish male boxer to win AIBA World Elite gold.
‘Joe has had a fantastic tournament and he’s taking home a silver medal. He came up against some top class opponents this week and beat three of them and there’s isn’t a mark on him even after tonight.
‘La Cruz is obviously exceptionally talented and he moves pretty well for such a big man. Joe gave it absolutely everything tonight.’
Ward also has the consolation of being No2 in the world this year. Another assuagement for the 2009 and 2010 World Junior and Youth champion is the 800 rankings points earned for reaching the final. The points will maintain his seeding as the No3 ranked light-heavy going into 2019 – when the Tokyo 2020 qualifiers begin in earnest. There are no AIBA ranking tournaments scheduled for 2018 at this point.
Twenty-eight-year-old La Cruz banked 1,200 points for gold. According to sources, the Cuban was jogging after his semi-final win in Hamburg, suggesting that his days at light-heavy could be numbered. Ward is making the 81kg limit comfortably.
The Irish skipper turned down pro offers from the UK and USA this year saying he wanted to lead his country into Tokyo 2020 as one of the reasons. His fellow ‘medal magnets’, Katie Taylor, Michael Conlan, Paddy Barnes and David Oliver Joyce, switched codes after Rio 2016.
The disappointment of Rio, where he crashed out in his first fight to Ecuador’s Carlos Mona, who was beaten by La Cruz in the semi-finals on Friday, was a factor in his decision to remain amateur.
Adding an Olympic medal to his collection and joining Taylor, Conlan and John Joe Nevin as one of four Irish boxers to medal at all the majors is an ambition, an ambition that can be achieved, according to Pat Ryan, President of the Irish Athletic Boxing Association (IABA).
‘Joe will obviously be disappointed that he couldn’t bring home the gold medal but what an achievement to get to consecutive World finals in Hamburg,’ he said.
‘Since he won a medal (silver) at the European Schoolboy Championships in Portsmouth in 2007, Joe has consistently made the podium in World and European competition at all levels.’
Meanwhile, Ward’s silver sees Ireland leapfrog England into joint 22nd spot with Poland in the alltime World Championship medals table. Irish boxing has one gold, three silver and nine bronze medals since the first event in 1974.