Donnelly impresses in final loss

AN Irish title may have eluded him, but Steven Donnelly has emerged from his maiden Irish Elite Championships with his reputation very much enhanced.
By The Newsroom
Published 8th Mar 2010, 08:26 BST
Updated 16th Mar 2010, 08:14 BST

That is the view of the All Saints boxer's coach Gerry Hamill, after Donnelly's adventure was finally ended by former world youth champion Ray Moylette on Saturday night.

The eventual 10-3 scoreline came as something of an eye-opener to may observers, not least Hamill.

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"I found it extraordinary. I was speaking to a couple of people who know boxing – one of them an RTE pundit – and they actually thought Steven had WON the fight.

"Steven landed a lot of good body shots and also hit Moylette with a few shots that knocked his head backwards, yet the judges only counted three scoring shots, which I found incredible.

"I have said many times I have concerns with the scoring systems used in big championships like that.

"Steven was quite upset and said people would think from the scoreline that he was well beaten. He wasn't and he has impressed a lot of people down south with his displays in these championships.

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"He is due to box for Ulster against a visiting Italian team this weekend and there may also be box-offs coming up for the Commonwealth Games team. We have no problems at all with that because the more fights he has before the Commonwealths, the better prepared he will be," added Gerry.

Related topics:All SaintsUlster