Talented teenager Mark McKeown loses out

Apr 27 2011 by Colin Paterson, Airdrie & Coatbridge

COATBRIDGE boxer Mark McKeown felt he was the victim of a rough decision in Bosnia.

The talented 17-year-old lost in the final of the Mostar Tournament to French fighter Dillian Carier after beating Pavel Crncic.

But the Scot’s camp felt the youngster was “cheated” out of the gold medal with a number of observers reacting with surprise to the judges’ decision.

McKeown expressed his disappointment at the result but has vowed to bounce back as he looks forward to an exciting year.

He told Advertiser Sport: “I felt I had done enough to win the fight so I was gutted not to be awarded the bout.

“I couldn’t believe the decision but I just have to get on with things.

“The next few months are busy for me so I will take out my frustration on my future opponents.

“I’d like to thank everyone for their support and thanks also to my sponsor, Johnny Mack of Mortons Rolls.”

Spike McKeown, Mark’s dad and coach, added: “Everybody thought he’d won it out of the park but for some reason the decision went against him.”

Meanwhile, fighters from Airdrie’s Four Isles Boxing Club were in action at Kilsyth Academy.

Dylan Shaw was first through the ropes and took on North West BC ace Connor Wallace of Kilmarnock.

The Plains starlet controlled the bout from the first bell and landed some perfect combinations from the centre of the ring.

Wallace felt blows to his head and body and it was no surprise to see Shaw win 8-3 on points.

James McLauchlan faced Clydebank Osprey’s Aiden Byrne and notched up a comfortable 8-4 success.

The Four Isles kid scored consistently well and kept his opponent on the back foot with some heavy right blows to the head.

Southpaw Elliott O’Donnell earned an impressive 17-11 win over Sean Stevenson of Kilsyth Golden Gloves BC.

This was a fantastic fight for the 400-strong crowd to enjoy with tremendous skills on show from both boxers.

But O’Donnell, who received a trophy for being voted best boxer of the tournament by the judges, was always ahead thanks to some straight right-hands and powerful left hooks.

Paddy McGowan faced Keir Hardie’s Gary Smith in another first-class contest.

The Four Isles star combined right hands to the head with some lovely left hooks to the body.

McGowan had the upper hand throughout the fight and received the decision 7-3 on points.

Four Isles coach Jimmy Robertson said: “This was a good night for the club overall with four wins out of four.”