Matthew McCole edged out in international tournament in Benidorm
Scorecards conflicted at the Boxam International Tournament but, despite one judge giving him the nod on a 29-26 card, Matthew McCole exited following a 3-2 split decision
Matthew McCole suffered an agonising defeat at the Boxam International Tournament in Spain.
The Illies Golden Gloves light-middle was beaten on a 3-2 split decision by Levente Gemes from Hungary.
Gemes, the Hungarian elite champion, had the edge on scorecards that were conflicting.
Indeed, one of the judges, Stuart Mann from England, gave McCole the nod on a 29-26 verdict with Latvia’s Sergejs Petronins also scoring the bout 28-27 for the Dungloe man.
Games advanced, though, with Swiss judge Benjamin Jagel (29-26), Veronica Ponsiglione from Italy (29-26) and Orlando Francisco Jesus Dos Santos of Portugal (28-26) siding with the man in the blue corner.
McCole was in Benidorm with an Ulster high performance election.
Last month, the 25-year-old Illies southpaw won his first Ulster Elite title when defeating Jon McConnell of Holy Trinity at the Girdwood Community Hub in Belfast.