BOXING Ireland Secure at Least Two Bronze Medals at AIBA World Youth Championship

Joe Ward and Ryan Burnett guaranteed Ireland at least two bronze medals with quarter final wins at the AIBA World Youth Championships in Azerbaijan today.

But there was last eight disappointment for Chris Blaney and Michael O'Reilly in Baku after they lost out to Vikas Krishan of India and David Lourencio de Costa of Brazil.

Ward, the current AIBA World Junior light-middleweight champion, beat Russian middleweight  Kyazim Eneev 9-6, and Burnett, from the Holy Family club in Belfast, earned a 6-4 verdict over Mark Anthony Barriga of the Philippines.

Today's wins also qualify both boxers for the inaugural Youth Olympic Games in Singapore in August.

Burnett will meet Yosvany Soto Veita of Cuba in Sunday's light flyweight semi final. According to Irish coaches Jim Moore and Jimmy Payne both boxers sparred in training camp in Baku last week and there was little between them.

Ward, meanwhile, is now just two bouts away from becoming a two-weight World champion. The Moate BC Co. Westmeath club-man, who was 9-1 up at one stage against his Russian opponent, will face Palacio Carrillo of Columbia in the last four.

Saturday is a rest day at the Championships. The finals will be held Monday.

Today's victories maintains the IABAs remarkable sequence of having won medals at every international tournament entered since the 2007 AIBA World Senior Championships in Chicago in October/November 2007.