World no. 1 Nevin clinches gold medal in Minsk

Paul Hughes

 

Just days after his quarter-final win cemented his status as amateur bantamweight boxing's world number 1, Mullingar's John Joe Nevin has clinched a gold medal in his European Amateur Boxing Championships final in the Belarussian capital of Minsk.

The Cavan BC clubman and Olympic silver-medallist defeated Ukraine's Mykola Butsenko 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 after a classy show in the 56kg decider.

Despite a late fightback from Butsenko in the third round, the Westmeath pugilist kept his nerve, even finding time to bring out "the Mullingar shuffle" before the bell.

The gold medal success is the latest high point in a rollercoaster nine months for John Joe, whose Olympic silver medal at London 2012 was followed by a decision not to go professional.

He missed the Irish Nationals in February due to injury, but has bounced back tremendously in Minsk, securing his place at the pinnacle of the amateur bantamweight game.

Nevin's Team Ireland colleague, Paddy Barnes had to pull out of his light-flyweight final earlier today with a nose injury, while Michael Conlan lost to Wales fighter Andrew Selby in his fly final.

Ireland's last chance at multiple golds lies with middleweight Jason Quigley, who takes on Romania's Bogdan Juratoni in their 75kg final shortly.

Rio 2016 aside, Nevin's thoughts will now surely turn to the World Amateur Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan (October), where an international gold will be in his sights.

Nevin has picked up two Worlds medals in the past – both bronzes – at Milan, Italy (2009) and Baku, Azerbaijan (2011).

The two-time Mullingar Olympian's status as world bantamweight number 1 will be confirmed by the publication of the latest AIBA rankings on July 1.