AIBA WORLD YOUTH Champion Joe Ward defeated Ainar Karlson of Estonia earlier today to ensure a place in the quarter-finals of the 2011 European Championships in Ankara, Turkey earlier today.

Ward, who beat Karlson 10-7, will now face Fiori Simeno of Italy in the quarter-finals on Tuesday.

The two fighters were closely matched, with the encounter all square at 5-5 at one point, before Ward eventually got the better of his opponent.

Elsewhere, John Joe Nevin and Ray Moylette joined the growing contingent of Irish boxers in the quarter-finals.

Nevin beat Nikoloz Izoria of Georgia to set up a quarter-final match with Dmitry Polyanskiy of Russia, while Moylette narrowly beat Serbia’s Marjanvic 17-16 in an enthralling encounter.

Moylette also faces a Russian opponent in the quarters in the form of Maksim Ignatiev.

Darren O’Neill and Cathal McMonagle will be competing later today.

The trio’s success comes after a further eight wins out of ten were recorded for Irish competitors – including McMonagle and O’Neill - over the weekend.

Following the weekend successes, IABA director of boxing Dominic O’Rourke, singled out boxer Michael Conlon for praise, after he surprisingly beat ex-World Cadet champ Khalid Yafai.

“It was a absolutely brilliant performance from Michael. The first two rounds were fairly close but he ran away with the third. It was an incredible performance.”