There was heartbreak for Ireland's Joe Ward today, after losing his semi-final at the World Championships in Kazakhstan.

The 19-year-old light-heavyweight lost to Cuba's Julio De La Cruz Peraza.

Ward was aggressive throughout the fight, but found his opponent to be too fast and with a superior reach which allowed him to keep well clear of Ward's punches.

After a cagey opening round, the Cuban fighter was judged to have come out on-top on all three scorecards, leaving Ward with the task of winning the next two rounds.

The Cuban went on to win all three rounds by 10 points to 9 to beat Ward 30 - 27 overall.

©INPHO/Cathal Noonan