Exciting Bangor bantamweight Dylan Eagleson fell short in his bid to win a gold medal at Monday’s European Championships in Armenia.
The 19-year-old, who leaves Yerevan with the consolation of a silver medal, was beaten in the 54kg final by elusive French fighter Billal Bennama.
The fleet-footed Bennema, four years older, had Eagleson on the canvas in the second round and secured a unanimous decision on the judges’ cards.
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The five judges from Poland, Germany, Estonia, Ukraine and Romania all scored the fight in favour of the 23-year-old from Blagnac.
Eagleson, a slick southpaw who beat Bulgaria’s Daniel Panev Asenov in the semi-finals at the weekend, started on the front foot in Yerevan.
But Bennama proved hard to hit and landed with a number of counter punches to win the opening round on four of the judges’ cards.
The second stanza followed a similar theme and Eagleson was downed by a quick combination midway through the round, although he recovered quickly.
With two rounds in the bag, Bennama was able to see out the third and final three minutes to secure gold.
Disappointment for Eagleson at the final hurdle, but on the evidence of a breakthrough week, there's a lot more to come from the talented teenager.
The St Paul’s BC club (Belfast) fighter had claimed a medal at the U22 European championships earlier this year, but this was his first championship at senior level.
The Bangor boxer is one of two Irish fighters in action today with Gabriel Dossen of Olympic BC in Galway, meeting England’s Lewis Richardson in the middleweight final.
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