With a minute to go in his World Championship semi-final bout against Elshod Rasulov of Uzbekistan, Joe Ward glanced up at the clock high up above a small but vocal pocket of Irish fans in the Ali Bin Hamad Al Attiya Arena and knew he was 60 seconds from heading to the Rio Olympic Games.
It was a moment that perfectly captured the paradoxical nervous confidence with which the Moate light-heavyweight boxed last night as the 21-year-old progressed to the World final, ensuring a silver medal at the least, after what he claimed was the most important win of his decorated career so far.
That achievement is a significant one as his teammate Michael Conlan – who fights in the 56kg final tomorrow night – and Jason Quigley (in 2013) are the only other Irishmen to reach a world senior final.
The bigger prize for Ward, however, is a ticket to the Olympic Games as both 81kg finalists at this tournament are awarded places in Rio.
Unanimous decision
“I’d give all my medals back just to go to an Olympic Games. I suppose that’s because I have all the rest of them [medals] and I just need a medal at the Olympic Games,” said the two-time European champion, two-time World medallist and underage world champion after his 3-0 unanimous win over Rasulov of Uzbekistan, who the Irishman previously defeated in Chemistry Cup action two years ago.
“That’s my dream, to go to an Olympic Games and I’ve got a World silver medal – it’s a massive achievement for me,” he added.
When asked whether he ever doubted his chances of reaching an Olympics after missing out on London 2012, Ward said: “Of course you do . . . When you keep getting pipped on the post by bad decisions and sometimes things not going for me, the pressure starts to build more and more because people start doubting you.
“People ask is to be for me or not for me, but by Jesus didn’t I make it for me tonight,” added Ward who dedicated the win to his old club coach Séamus Dorrington and current coach Eddie Bolger after his win.
“Only for him, he had the [Moate] boxing club open, I probably wouldn’t be boxing,” continued Ward on Dorrington. “It was a small town I live in and he’s a wonderful man, I want to dedicate it to him.”
Ward, the world number five and number four seed here, looked edgy to begin with against Rasulov, the world number 15 and Asian Games silver medallist.
A cut picked up by Rasulov over his left eye in the first round – caused by either a short right hook from Ward or a head clash – seemed to help the Irishman settle.
He took control of the first round, and boxed with self-belief as he acknowledged the cheering Irish crowd in between rounds.
A relatively conservative display in the final three minutes saw Ward lose the last round as he avoided any slip-up en route to a 29-28 win on all three cards.
“It was going to be a game of chess, but I knew going in there that my best would beat his best and that’s what I showed tonight. I’m absolutely over the moon, I probably haven’t been as emotional in all my wins all over the years as I am tonight,” said Ward, who will meet Cuba’s Julio la Cruz in the final.
Defeated
The Cuban two-time world champion defeated the Irishman in the 2013 World semi-final, and reached another final after beating Russia’s Pavel Silyagin on Monday night.
Meanwhile, Conlan competes in the 56kg final tomorrow night, taking on Murodjon Akhmadaliev of Uzbekistan, the world number 22 and Asian Games silver medallist.
The Belfast bantamweight is already qualified for Rio through the World Series of Boxing, but he has the chance to become Ireland’s first-ever male world champion.
Portlaoise middleweight Michael O’Reilly is taking on Egypt’s Hosam Abdin tomorrow night in a third-place Olympic qualification box-off. Victory would ensure he qualifies for Rio, although defeat could still lead to a slight chance of qualifying on quota decisions.
