OLYMPIC MEDALLIST PADDY Barnes added a Commonwealth Games gold medal to his trophy cabinet today, defeating Jafet Uutoni 8-4 in the light-flyweight final in Delhi.

His Namibian opponent was the defending champion and came to within a point of Barnes in the second round. The Belfast fighter pulled away though in the third round, going 6-4 up with a sharp right hook.

Barnes , already European champion, now wants to add a world title to his haul next year.

“I rank all the medals together. I’ve won the Commonwealth gold, I’m champion of Europe and next year champion of the world. I always felt I had the fight under control. I took the foot off the pedal a bit in the second round and he caught me with a few stupid shots.”

“But even when the coaches told me I was only one up I knew what I could do and he wasn’t getting past my tight defence and I picked off my shots when I needed to.”

His compatriot Paddy Gallagher was also victorious, withstanding a fightback from  England’s George Smith to win 11-6 in the welterweight final. Gallagher took an early lead before Smith brought the score back to 5-5. The Ulsterman produced a strong finish to seal what was a big win in the end.

“It’s unbelievable, it’s hard to say how I feel, I don’t know if it has sunk in yet but it’s brilliant to win,” said Gallagher. “I’m just so happy for everyone involved. He was a great opponent and the opponents have got harder as the rounds have gone on – but I was able to pull through.”