DEAN CLANCY TOOK gold at the European U22 Championships in Italy this evening, with the Sligo fighter not having to even break a sweat.
Bantamweight Adam Hession also fought for gold, but was stopped in the second round by Armenia’s Artur Bazeyan in the final.
Clancy was due to fight Israel’s Ahmad Shtiwi in Roseto in the light-welterweight decider, but his opponent never showed up for the fight, which had been brought forward following a change to the schedule.
Clancy was in the ring waiting for Shtiwi, who failed to appear. As a result he was handed a walkover and claimed gold in the 63kg class.
Clancy, who boxes out of the Sean McDermott club, won four fights to reach the final, beating Pete Novak of the Czech Republic, Serbia’s Nenad Javanovic, French fighter Lounes Hanraoui and Italian Matteo Ara.
Bantamweight Hession was left disappointed however following a classy display by Bezeyon, the tournament number two seed.
Bezeyon delivered a succession of heavy blows in the second round, with the referee stopping the fight after Hession’s second standing count.
Today’s action brought Ireland’s medal count to three for the Championships.
On Tuesday, Monkstown BC’s Jack Marley won bronze in the heavyweight division, losing his 91kg semi-final in a unanimous decision against Artyan Yardanyar of Georgia.
The42 Rugby Weekly / SoundCloud
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