THE LANGUAGE of the bull and matador used by Ireland coach Billy Walsh proved accurate last night in the ExCel arena. Ireland’s bantamweight John Joe Nevin held the red cape as Mexican Oscar Valdez rushed forward for nine long minutes. But Nevin, forever the elusive fighter, feinted and sloped away for three rounds to earn the Irish boxing team their first bronze medal of London 2012.
At the end of the fight, after the referee had raised his hand as winner, the Mullingar 23-year-old raised his eyes to heaven and crossed himself. It was, he said, “a dream come true”. Nevin had travelled to Beijing as a teenager and left disappointed but in the intervening years had won bronze medals at two World Championships and had high expectations in London.
Although he drew the first round 5-5, his second round was commanding and, more importantly, high scoring. He won it easily and held a 12-9 lead going into the final three minutes. It was there his bid for a medal could have perished as Valdez desperately chased the Irishman, sometimes sprinting across the ring to close down space and make up ground. But it was Nevin who emerged 19-13 winner, despite taking a standing count after a blow to the side put him on his knees.
“It feels amazing,” said Nevin afterwards. “As I said from the start, to put on the green jersey and represent my country is a dream come true for me. I want to go all the way. As I said to the boys it’s like that Queen song I Want it All. I want every day of it. I want to be the best in the world.”
Nevin was the first of four Irish boxers who are in medal fights. Katie Taylor steps into the ring today for the first time for a bronze medal joust with Britain’s Natasha Jonas, while Belfast’s Paddy Barnes and Michael Conlan are also chasing bronze medals later in the week.
But it is Nevin who has led the way in this Irish team, with last night’s victory his third of the championship. He had been toying with the idea of turning professional prior to the Olympics but decided to give it one final shot. His semi-final fight is a tough one on Friday – he meets the Cuban world champion Lazaro Estrada Alvarez.
“I take my hat off to anyone who is able to beat me,” said Nevin. To the end bravado and confidence. In this team that is how it has been all week in London.
