RYAN Burnett was denied the chance to shine as a pro in the venue he light up as an amateur.

The World Youth Olympic Gold Medal winner was keen to perform against opposition that took current Commonwealth champion Jason Cunningham the distance earlier this year.

The Belfast man did show enough in the few minutes he shared the ring with Csaba Kovacs that he could have stopped the durable vistor, but his opponent seemed to take the easy route out and cried off midway through the second round complaining about pain in his shoulder.

Burnett got limited time, but did show flashes of his class and did drop his foe with a short right hand in the second. However he would have preferred a more conventional route to victory.

The Belfast was a bit disappointed when the referee waved it off, but has a massive fight to look forward too. The bantamweight talent will face Jason Booth in a British title eliminator in the Autumn.