John Moran will return from the Bahamas with a Commonwealth Youth Games bronze medal after the Illies light-flyweight went down to Welshman James Probert in the semi-final.
Moran, who had beaten Samoa’s Seanoa Hall in his quarter-final on Thursday evening, didn’t look out of place against a man of vast experience.
Probert had previous won World and European Junior bronze medals and a European Schoolboys bronze.
Moran is, by comparison, an international novice, but he matched Probert for long spells of a contest awarded to the Welsh ace on a unanimous decision.
“We’d be well pleased with John’s performance,” Illies Golden Gloves coach Eamonn Duffy said.
“He is coming back to Illies with a bronze medal from these Games, which is a fantastic achievement.
“He’s disappointed, of course, but he can take a lot of positives. Probert is number four or five in the World at the weight and John wasn’t out of place with him.
“He gave him a very cagey fight and I thought he boxed really well. John had a wee injury in the camp and didn’t get as much work as he’d have wanted, but he still went in against a slippy southpaw, who is one of the top men in the world, and boxed well.”
Moran is from a renowned family of boxers and Duffy believes the Bahamas experience will bring on the 49kgs terrier on a lot.
He said: “John will come home a different person from this. He’ll step into Intermediate level now when he’s back in competition and it’ll do him the power of good.”
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