Ward secures third European medal with convincing win
Moate's Joe Ward has secured his third medal at European senior boxing championships with an emphatic victory against Scotland's Sean Lazzerini in Kharkiv, Ukraine, this evening (Wednesday).Â
Boxing cleverly on the back foot, the Moate native controlled the quarter final bout from the outset.Â
Lazzerini pressed forward and sought to put him under pressure, but Ward was never in any real difficulty and comfortably won each round on all of the judges' scorecards.Â
In his opening bout at the championships yesterday, the 23-year-old was similarly impressive as he outpointed Slovakia's Matus Strnisko.
The win this evening guarantees him a bronze medal at the very least, but Ward will be aiming to repeat his achievement at the championships in 2011 and 2015, when he won the gold. He exited the 2013 championships prematurely after sustaining a freak knee injury in his opening bout.Â