Bizarre debut disqualification win for Paddy Barnes

Paddy Barnes promised that he would bring entertainment on his pro debut, and while the fight itself was a scrappy one, it certainly was a memorable debut at the Titanic Exhibition Centre

The triple Olympian made his paid bow on the Belfast Boxnation show and entered the ring to much fanfare and a huge reception before winning via fourth round disqualification against Stefan Slavchev.

Fighting in a scheduled six rounder against admittedly weak opposition due to far from perfect preparations, ‘The Wee Man’ was left frustrated by the Eastern European’s negative tactic before Slachev was turfed out for what admittedly was more horseplay than cyncism.

Making an assured start, the Belfast man looked as if it were his twenty-first rather than his first pro bout.

Following a quiet opener, Barnes began to get inside in the second with some furious flurries that did not bode well for Slavchev.

The Holy Family GG man was however becoming visibly frustrated with the spoiling tactics of the Bulgarian throughout the third and the fourth.

The end then came when Slavchev physically picked up Barnes over his shoulder in a fireman’s lift and walked across the ring, leading to referee Hugh Russell Jr handing him a disqualification for foul play.

Barnes’s pro record starts off at 1(0)-0, while Slavchev falls to 8(4)-25(11)-1 following the DQ loss.