Boxing:Ireland secured their first gold medal at the European championships in 19 years after Paddy Barnes got his tactics spot on to see off Azerbaijan's Elvin Mamishzade 4-1 in the final of the light-flyweight division in Moscow this afternoon. But Darren O'Neill had to settle for silver after he was outclassed by Russia's Arten Chebotarev.
Barnes became the first Irish fighter to top the podium since Paul Griffin in 1991 and was never out of his comfort zone against Mamishzade, picking off his opponent while fighting behind a rock solid defence.
The Olympic bronze medallist took ownership of the centre of the ring in the opening round, bossing the pace and eventually getting the reward with the only scoring point.
Mamishzade was the busier fighter in the second, but Barnes weathered the storm and got in the first scoring blow before being caught with a fine counter punch. But the Irish fighter regained the intiative to take a 3-1 lead into the final round.
Sensing his chance slipping away, Mamishzade again increased the intensity in the last but his attacks were too frenetic and he was unable to find a way through. And with the medal already secured, Barnes relaxed in the closing stages, dancing around his beaten opponent and adding a fourth and final point with a solid left.
It was a different story for O'Neill, who never led in his bout with Chebotarev. The former Kilkenny minor hurler was rocked back on his heels early in the first as the home favourite, roared on by a partisan crowd, got the first points on the board. O’Neill was soon back on level terms but Cheboatarev edged back in front in the last 10 seconds, unleashing a barrage of blows on O’Neill with one finding a way through.
Fighting for the most part off the back foot, O’Neill began to trade blows with the Russian in the second. It was to prove a dangerous tactic as he swiftly found himself 8-4 in arrears. With O’Neill visibly flagging, it was a question of how much Chebotarev would win by in the last, and he stretched the advantage to 16-7 at the final bell.
England’s Khalid Yafai was forced to settle for a silver medal after a 4-1 defeat in the flyweight final to home favourite Misha Aloyan.
Despite being the aggressor throughout, Yafai had to wait until the final seconds to score his only point — by which time Aloyan, who led 2-0 at the end of the second round, had victory in the bag.
Yafai’s frustration was evident in the way he left the ring with both arms raised, as if in indication of how he thought the contest had gone.