Gold medal winner Jude Gallagher targets Olympic Games

The County Tyrone fighter started his first multi-games tournament with an unanimous points victory over Zweli Dlamini from Eswatini.

Gallagher produced one of the performances of the tournament in his next bout with a devasting opening round stoppage of England’s highly fancied Niall Farrell.

The Two Castles ABC fighter guaranteed himself a medal with another classy 5-0 points victory over Pakistan’s Ilyas Hussain in the quarter-finals.

Gallagher’s semi-final opponent Keoma Ali Al-Ahmadieh was unable to fight and the Team NI boxer also received a walk over in the gold medal bout against Ghana’s Joseph Commey.

Despite not being involved in any action since his last-eight fight Gallagher was delighted to be crowned Commonwealth champion and stand at the top of the podium in the men’s featherweight division.

“I’m over the moon, I’m absolutely buzzing,” he said.

“It didn’t end the way I expected to but that was completely out of my control and I am happy to be standing at the top of that podium.

“It means everything to everybody back home, the support has been unreal and this gold medal is for them also.”

Gallagher can take a lot of his three bouts in Birmingham.

“I am disappointed with the way it finished but there was nothing that I could have done but I did have three good performances against three tough lads and I am happy with he performances that I got,” he said. “Before coming here I had set out to win the gold medal, and to actually come here and do it is something else and I am absolutely buzzing about it.”

Seven of the 12 boxers that Team NI sent to Birmingham will be returning home with medals.

“The team has been ureal from start to finish,” said Gallagher.

“It has been no surprise to us what we have achieved, maybe for everybody else looking in it has been a bit of a surprise, but we knew the talent and how hard everybody works on this team and what we are capable of achieving.

“The coaches have been top class, Damian (Kennedy), John (Conlan), Liam (Corr), JP (Daly), Rory (McShane)... everybody has been unreal and helping each other the whole way.

“It also shows that the set up in Ulster works too, after the turnout in this competition it obvious does work.

“I remember when we started this camp 12 weeks ago back in the Balmoral hotel and we were saying we are in for a long run here in this training camp.

“But it has absolutely flown in and now the competition is over it’s like were did that time go.”

Gallagher is still hungry to achieve more in the amateur ranks.

“The Olympic Games is hopefully my next dream,” he said.

“I want to get that national No1 spot and then the Olympic qualifiers are next year and that will be my next aim.”