WORLD ELITE SEMI-FINALS

The first batch of finalists at the 2017 World Elite Championships will be revealed in Hamburg, Germany tonight.

Ten semi-finals are slated for decision, with the remaining semi-finals pencilled in for Friday.

Both session start at 5pm (Irish time).

Joe Ward, pictured above, red, meets Uzbekistan’s Bektimer Melikuziev on Friday and Cuba’s defending champion Julio de la Cruz faces Carlos Mina (Ecuador) in the corresponding last-four match up.

Cruz (1), Melikuziev (2), Ward (3), and Mina (4) are the top four seeds in the light-heavy class and are, courtesy of Hamburg 2017, the top four in the world this year with the seeding getting it spot on.

Hamburg 2017 marks the fifth successive occasion that Irish (male) boxing has finished amongst the medals – and the 6th time this century – at the World Elite Men’s Championships.

Olympic silver medallist John Joe Nevin won double bronze at Milan 2009 and Baku 2011 – where Ward, who is appearing in his fourth successive Worlds in Hamburg, debuted aged just 17.

Jason Quigley claimed silver at Almaty 2013 – and also became the first Irish male boxer to reach a World Elite final – and Ward won bronze.

Olympic bronze medallist Michael Conlan secured the one medal that Irish boxing didn’t have at Doha 2015 after winning gold, and Ward and Michael O’Reilly won silver and bronze.

In 2001,James Moore won bronze at the World Elites in Belfast.

Overall, Irish boxing has claimed 20 World Men’s and Women’s World Elite Championship medals since Tommy Corr took home bronze from Munich 1982.

London 2012 bronze medallist Conlan (1) and Olympic champion Katie Taylor (5) are our gold medallists. It’s an exclusive Irish club that three-time European champion Ward will be aiming to join this weekend

The Hamburg 2017 finals will be resolved Saturday.Boxing begins at 5pm (Irish time).

The five strong Irish squad are scheduled to arive home at 1.55pm via Dublin Airport on Sunday afternoon.