Brett McGinty battles to tough debut win

Donegal light middle Brett McGinty made a winning start to pro life tonight in England.

The St Johnston scrapper defeated dangerous Czech Jan Ardon over six rounds on the big Hennessy Promotions show at the Fly By Nite Rehearsal Studios in Redditch.

Not given an easy touch when Ardon stepped in as a late replacement, McGinty claimed a points win following a competitive six rounds which were a long time coming for the 22-year-old.

The Oakleaf graduate had turned pro at the start of the year, linking up with Sheer Sports management and trainer Ricky Hatton. While he had won European Schoolboys bronze, Commonwealth Youth silver, and eight underage titles – not to mention finishing runner-up twice in the Elites – McGinty has been seen for some time as a fighter perfectly suited to the pros.

COVID may have stalled his initial plans in the paid game but things appeared to come quickly together this week as a promotional deal with Mick Hennessy was announced alongside a televised debut.

Manchester-based southpaw Ardon had drawn attention in October when he seemingly outworked Matchroom super middleweight debutant John Hedges over four rounds only to lose a much-derided decision.

Jumping straight in with such an opponent – two weights down and over six rounds – McGinty deserved credit for starting with such a fight and even more for a winning performance just outside Birmingham.

It was a tough start for the Ulsterman, tougher than most, and he had to come through a sticky patch but ultimately prevailed 59-56 on the referee’s scorecard.

The solid start sees McGinty begin his professional ledger at 1(0)-0 while the extremely game Ardon drops to 2(0)-6(0).

While there was an undesirable wait to start, this evening’s debut comes at a perfect time, and McGinty will be back in camp early in 2021 looking to be busy and build quickly.