Paddy McShane edged out in Ulster Elite final

Paddy McShane could count himself unfortunate not to get the nod in tonight’s Ulster Elite flyweight final.

Irish Elite champion McShane lost out to Cookstown’s Craig Bigger on a narrow 3-2 split decision at the Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast.

Letterkenny ABC’s Eamonn Coyle was a two-time Ulster senior champion, claiming the heavyweight title in 1982 and the super-heavyweight crown a year later.

McShane was bidding to bridge the gap and would’ve been content with much of his performance.

Particularly over the first two verses of the contest, McShane seemed to have the upper hand. A fine left jab to the bullseye towards the end of the second round seemed to affirm that feeling.

While McShane, out of the red corner, was busy throughout, landed several clean punches on Bigger, the Tyrone puncher claimed the verdict from the ringside arbitrators.

McShane was down in the third, but the shot wasn’t deemed a knockdown.

In October, McShane defeated Padraig Downey from Antrim in the Irish Elite final.

This is McShane’s debut year at Elite level and an injury denied him an Irish debut when he traveled to the Golden Gong Tournament in Skopje, North Macedonia last month.

On Wednesday night, Illies Golden Gloves’ Matthew McCole lost on a 3-2 split decision to Irish Elite kingpin Eugene McKeever.

Competing for St Malachy’s Newry, McKeever claimed a narrow win over McCole.

The Dungloe man gave as good as he got for much of the fight, but it was McKeever who advanced.

At the recent World Championships in Belgrade, McKeever was Ireland’s welterweight representative, losing out to Asadhuja Muydinkhajaev from Uzbekistan.

Carndonagh woman Rosemary Doherty received a walkover win the women’s 70kgs category.