Irish Amateur Ward Denied Chance At London Olympics

The IABA have received final notification today from AIBA that boxer Joe Ward, (81kg) will not be competing in the 2012 London Olympics.

The AIBA notification states: “…following the Olympic Qualifying Guidelines approved by the IOC Executive Board, the next Best Boxer from the 2011 AIBA World Boxing Championships is supposed to be selected. Following the Competition Protocol list, we regrettably found out that your boxer does not meet the qualification to be the next Best Boxer in your continent.”

The IABA High Performance Head Coach Billy Walsh has stated that he is extremely disappointed with this decision.