Kurt Walker of Ireland celebrates after winning the Mens Bantamweight final bout against Mykola Butsenko of Ukraine at Uruchie Sports Palace on Day 10 of the Minsk 2019 2nd European Games in Minsk, Belarus. Photo by Seb Daly/Sportsfile

Ireland's Kurt Walker has claimed a gold medal at the European Games in Minsk after defeating Mykola Butsenko in the bantamweight final.

Walker produced a top display in the three-round bout, putting his Ukrainian opponent in all sorts of bother before ultimately getting the decision.

Butsenko had to return to his corner with 30 seconds left in round three to get treatment after Walker opened up a deep cut on his face. The 28-year-old finished strongly with a flurry of punches but Walker tagged him in response, with blood pouring from Butsenko's face as the bout drew to a close.

Speaking after the fight, Walker expressed his delight at the result.

"I actually can’t describe how I’m feeling, it’s absolutely unbelievable," he said afterwards.

"To come here at the start and believe I’ll win gold, but for it to actually happen is just on a different level.

"He was very tough, he’s been about. This was his third European final so he’s very experienced and he kept coming and coming, so I’m just glad I was able to fight through it. Two years ago in the European Championships he beat me in the semis 5-0 and it just shows I’ve grown so much as a boxer and a man in the last two years

"The coaches need so much credit, the game plan it was unbelievable and I knew it was working. I came back after the first round and they were both buzzing and they’re never usually like that! You usually have to do more and more, but they were both buzzing and they said keep picking it up, and thankfully I did. It’s unbelievable – it was everything coming true. You have these dreams of it happening, but when it actually does happen you don’t know what to do, you just feel so happy it’s unbelievable."

Walker's great win capped a bittersweet day for Ireland, with Kellie Harrington forced to withdraw from her gold medal fight with a thumb injury.

"I’m disappointed to not be competing but I understand that there’s a bigger picture to be taken into account. It would be too much of a risk to go in there and have another setback," Harrington said.

"I totally respect the advice of the medical staff and the decision of the Performance Director.

"While I’m disappointed, I’m still going to be there for Kurt my teammate, as captain. It’s been an honour to be captain of this boxing team, and I’m going to be cheering him on and I am can’t wait to watch our team collect their medals, and I will carry my silver medal with pride.

"I’m looking forward to getting home, recovering and getting back at it as soon as possible. We came out here having had a fantastic training camp and were excited about testing ourselves against the best in Europe blocks, and we did that. It’s been a fantastic competition for the Irish boxing team and I’m going to continue to trust the team that’s supporting me."

More to follow...

Online Editors