ILLIES Golden Gloves boxer Willie McLaughlin just fell short of an elite Irish title at the National Stadium in Dublin tonight.
Champion Adam Nolan retained his title in the 69kg category.
Nolan was ahead 7-3 after the first round, to boos from the Donegal contingent in the crowd who believed McLaughlin had pointed better.
The Inishowen man was under the cosh in the second round and was behind 16-5 at the second round, again the crowd wasn’t happy with that either.
McLaughlin came out fighting in the third round knowing he needed a knock-out to win the title and he put in a storming performance.
He landed some cracking shots on Nolan in a superb round and with 40 seconds to go McLaughlin had Nolan bouncing off the ropes.
The Leinster man clinged on to win but the 23-12 scoreline seemed much wider than most fans thought.
There were boos from the Donegal crowd – there was a feeling that there was no way the Olympian Nolan had won by that margin.
Nolan paid tribute to McLaughlin afterwards describing him as a great champion.