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Five Irish boxers were involved in today's quarter-finals of the AIBA World Boxing Championships in Almaty, Kazakhstan, as they looked for a semi-final spot and guaranteed bronze medal.
It was a mixed day in the end, with Jason Quigley and Joe Ward coming through their contests impressively but all three Belfast boxers suffering defeats. Find out how each boxer got on below, including photos, interviews and tweets.
Here's what Billy Walsh thought of it, as he spoke to Kenneth Egan after Ward's fight.
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Michael Conlan, having moved up from flyweight to bantam after winning Olympic bronze last year, was first up but was defeated in a tight contest by Russia's Vladimir Nikitin (who, as far as we know, isn't being backed by the tobacco industry), who was awarded all three rounds.
READ: What Could Michael Conlan Mean With This Tweet?
Kenneth Egan caught up with Conlan immediately after the fight.
There was better news for European gold medallist Jason Quigley who comfortably defeated the Hungarian Zoltan Harcsa 3-0 to reach the middleweight semi-finals, knocking down his opponent in the second round.
Naturally, he was delighted with the win.
Bronze assured impressive performance now back to focus and change the colour #finnvalley
— Jason Quigley (@jay_quigley) October 23, 2013
Heavyweight Tommy McCarthy was always up against it as he faced second-seeded Argentine Yamil Peralta. The Belfast man gave a decent account of himself but was picked off by his opponent who won all three rounds as the Irish team watched on.
Lost today fuck sake! Gutted!! For the support people of Ireland!
— Tommy McCarthy (@Tommymac90) October 23, 2013
Paddy Barnes and Joe Ward's fights were not scheduled until the afternoon. Here's how they prepared.
@kenegan30 Egan me and Joe Ward are sitting in the Irish pub having a few we thought we weren't fighting until tomoro! #belfastboys #upjoyce
— Paddy Barnes (@paddyb_ireland) October 23, 2013
Barnes stepped into the ring at 14.15 Irish time. However, he struggled to deal with the speed and combinations of his Uzbekh opponent Jasurbek Latipov, with the Irishman suffering a cut on his head in the first round in a scrappy fight.
A dejected looking Barnes knew he had lost it when the final bell sounded, completing a disappointing day for the Belfast boxers. He declined interviews afterwards.
Sorry people no comments from Paddy today, I will try my best to get a chat with him as soon as, He is pretty pissed at the moment, #Almaty
— Kenneth Egan (@kenegan30) October 23, 2013
That's it all over!Was out on my feet in the 1st round and didn't recover, blurred vision for 3 rds with head clashes!Fuck your no headgear!
— Paddy Barnes (@paddyb_ireland) October 23, 2013
Ireland's final boxer of the day was Joe Ward, who faced Russian third seed Nikita Ivanov in the light heavyweight division.
The contest was fairly even in the early stages but a brilliant combination of punches from Ward opened a cut on Ivanov's face and the referee stopped the fight in the first round.
The 19-year-old from Westmeath will add at least bronze to the European gold he won in 2011. He and Quigley will be in semi-final action on Friday.
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