Dee Walsh ready for 'blame game' as he reacts to Conor Quinn defeat

Dee Walsh says he's ready for the 'blame game' to begin as he reflected on Conor Quinn's first defeat as a professional.

Quinn came up short in his Commonwealth flyweight title fight against Conner Kelsall at the SSE Arena on Friday night. In a close fight, one judge scored it a draw (114-114), overruled by two others who saw it 116-112 and 115-114 in favour of the Englishman.

Kelsall said afterwards: “He said he was gonna catch me, I don’t think I got hit hardly, call it a draw, I call it a mismatch. Look at my face compared to his, I think that speaks a thousand words.

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“The hard work paid off. We had a gruelling camp. I’ve done it on the road with Jason [Cunningham] and Stefy [Bull] and the team. Everything against us, the Irish didn’t back us but we backed ourselves.”

Belfast coach Walsh voiced his 'pride' at Quinn's performance, and says he believed his man should have got the verdict.

He said on social media: "Gutted about last night but very proud of my fighter Conor Quinn. Not many can headline the SSE on their 10th fight.

"Do I think he won? Yes, I’ll stand by my decision all the way but unfortunately we didn’t get the decision in a close fight.

"There have been many fighters from Belfast and Ireland lost early in their careers and ended up becoming greats of this country and I know Conor will be back as the cream always rises to the top

"People wanna blame, point the finger at me and the next person but I welcome it the way I’m quick to take the praise for my fighters' wins. If you don’t have the mental strength or aren’t willing to be judged win or lose in this sport then you’re better off out of it.

"Win as a team lose as a team. We’ll be back."

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