Paul Hyland Jr overcomes weighty issue – “I did what I had to do”

Photo Credit: Chris Scott – AMMG Media.

Size mattered last night for lightweight Paul Hyland Jr [13(4)-0] in his top-of-the-bill clash at the Europa Hotel.

Hylo was due to face Felix Lora on the ‘Another Level’ card but visa issues saw late replacement Nelson Altamirano drafted in. Such was the short notice of the bout, the Nicaraguan was nowhere near fighting weight and would eventually tip the scales at 145lbs (after initially weighing in at 147lbs) – a full half a stone heavier than Hyland and most likely heavier again on fight night.

The Belfast fan-favourite was victorious in a typically exciting scrap, but was somewhat disappointed afterwards and cited his opponent’s size.

Describing the difficulty of facing a larger opponent, he explained that “I trained for eight rounds but he was near a stone heavier. It just drains you, he just kept coming”

“He was just taking my punches, if he had been drained down to my weight I would have stopped him.”

Hyland, who has 2017 title aspirations, remained positive however and is already looking toward his next fight.

“It was tough enough but the single shots were working and he did walk into a few, but whenever I was throwing punches he was just crowding me.”

“At the end of the day I got the win, I did what I had to do. It was a bit scrappy, and it wasn’t my best performance, but I’m now 13-0 and the next one I promise you a better performance than that against someone at my own weight.”