Michael Conlan and Joe Ward both pass semi-final tests, fight for European gold tomorrow

There was never any worry that Michael Conlan was going to settle for his guaranteed bronze medal.

The Belfast bantamweight will leave Bulgaria with at least silver after overcoming semi-final opponent Francesco Maietta by a scoreline of 30-27, 29-28, 29-28 to progress to tomorrow's European boxing championships final.

Michael Conlan upgraded his bronze medal to at least silver after beating Francesco Maietta in the semi-finals of... http://t.co/e7xxsrhPcu

— IABA (@IABABOXING) August 14, 2015

The Olympic bronze medalist will take on Britain's Qais Ashfaq in tomorrow's final and will be confident as Conlan came out on top when the two fought for Commonwealth gold last August. There was no such luck for Dean Walsh in his light-welterweight semi-final against Vitaly Dunaytsev as he fell 29-28 x 3 and has to make due with bronze but can hold his head high after a tremendous tournament. Westmeath's Joe Ward also is into a European final after a comprehensive win over  Hrvoje Sep in the light heavyweight semi-final later this evening. The Westmeath got the better of the number one seed in impressive fashion and has a chance for gold tomorrow afternoon. https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/632262130297929729