BOXING Brave Nevin Bows Out of AIBA World Championships

Irish bantamweight John Joe Nevin lost out in his quest to become the first Irishman to reach a World Senior Championships final after he was agonizingly edged out by Eduard Abzalimov of Russia in Milan.

The final verdict read 5-4 to the Russian in the 54Kg semi final at the Mediolanum Forum.

A short range right secured Abzalimov's first point in the opening round and he was still 1-0 up going into the third and final frame where the skilful Nevin restored parity twice.

The Russian fighter then edged back in front at 4-3 and a further scoring exchange between both boxers inside the last 30 seconds saw the last four duel end in Abzalimov's favour by a solitary point.

Speaking from ringside at the Mediolanum Forum, IABA President Dominic O'Rourke described Nevins performance as World class.

He said: "John Joe gave it everything he had. I thought he would take the lead in the final round when he leveled it twice,but unfortunately it wasn't to be.

"It was a World class performance from John Joe Nevin and he can be very proud of the way he represented his country at these Championships against some of the best boxers in the world."

Nevin, who will be taking home a bronze medal from Milan, was the last Irish boxer left at the 2009 AIBA World Senior Championships, the 15th edition of the series since 1974.