Moylette into European final

Moylette into European final


Daniel Carey

ISLANDEADY boxer Ray Moylette booked his place in the European Championship men’s 64kg final in Ankara, Turkey with victory in the semi-final today (Thursday).
The St Anne’s BC, Westport member beat Hajiliyev Heybatulla of Azerbaijan 18-16 earlier this afternoon.
In a very tight contest, the boxers were locked together at 4-4 after round one, and there was still no separating them in round two, after which they were still level at 9-9.
“Damn I love my job ..;)” Moylette said on his Facebook page after the victory. “Thanx every1 your savage supporters, cudnt do it with out ye.. My phone was nicked in the dressin room, so this is my only form of contact 4 the next few days.. See ye soon..;)”
Moylette will take on England’s Thomas Stalker in the final, which will take place tomorrow (Friday). Stalker received a walkover from Italy’s Vincenzo Mangiacapre in Thursday’s other semi-final. The Liverpool native was a silver medal winner at the 2010 European Championships and is the current Commonwealth champion.
Moylette’s friends and supporters were able to follow the bout live on the internet thanks to a live feed, but didn’t know the scores until the 2008 World Youth champion was revealed as the winner.
There were some decent hits on both sides in round one, and Moylette showed dexterity to avoid trouble in the closing seconds. Slipping in the second round, he bounced back up acrobatically, and landed a decent body shot, but Heybatulla also had plenty of power behind him. By round three, it was clear that Heybatulla was chasing the bout, and Moylette got ahead, though he was briefly wrestled to the ground.
The Irish team is due to return to Dublin Airport at 10.30am on Saturday morning, and Moylette will have at least a silver medal with him.
Moate’s Joe Ward, Ireland’s other medallist from the championships, will be in action in the light-heavyweight semi-final versus Hungary’s Imre Szello between 5pm and 6pm (Irish time) today (Thursday).