Pride comes after the fall for Ray Moylette

Ray Moylette [11(4)-1(0)] didn’t wake up on Sunday December 9th with the WBC International Silver title gleaming back at him but, having gained something more valuable than a belt, he was still smiling over breakfast.

The Mayo lightweight was beaten on a split-decision by Mexican Christian Uruzquieta on an epic night in Castlebar last month, climbing off the canvas twice in the fifth round but being edged on the cards.

While he didn’t claim the title or the ranking that was on offer, Moylette feels he managed to earn respect, increase his profile, and his battling performance filled him with pride – all of which proved massive consolation in the days and weeks after the reverse.

When speaking to Newstalk 106FM’s Off The Brawl this week the 28-year-old was able to put perspective on his defeat to Uruzquieta.

He claims he was hurt physically during the 10 rounds, but the manner in which he battled back from the two knockdowns in round five live on terrestrial TV meant the defeat didn’t hurt his career.

Moylette explained how “I didn’t wake up with the belt but, if things were different and maybe the opponent wasn’t as credible as Uruzquieta and the night didn’t go so well, I might have woken up with the belt but I wouldn’t have the respect of all the people.”

“Whereas I think I have gained that now and I think I can build on the title race. I can build toward getting my belts in the next few fights.”

“It’s unfortunate I didn’t get it [the title] but I took something that I never even thought about from it and that is respect and pride from the people that were there.”

The Celtic Warriors fighter didn’t manage to deliver victory live on TG4 in front of a large Mayo crowd, but takes solace in the fact he played his part in an entertaining night.

“Overall, I am very happy with the response from everyone. At the end of the day, it’s entertainment, it’s professional boxing, it’s a business, and I think people got what the paid for on the night.”

“People are now asking ‘when is it happening again?’, when am I fighting again? There’s massive interest now across the board. It’s not just my family and friends supporting me – they nearly have to support me, they don’t have a choice! – but now there are neetrals that have come on board. People that have never seen boxing or were never at a boxing event thought it was the best sporting event they were ever at.”

It wasn’t quite Tyson Fury’s Undertaker impression in a heavyweight world title fight the week previous, but ‘Sugar Ray’s’ round five display of guts did capture the attention of the massive TV audience and was a hit online in the days following.

The Paschal Collins-trained fighter, who returned to training last week, now believes the Irish-boxing.com Round of the Year has substantially raised his profile.

The World Youth and European Elite gold medallist”Them two knockdowns have catapulted my profile and my stock has risen, maybe not so much here in Dublin but definitely on the west coast… in Mayo and Galway.

“Ray Moylette was a boxer, always – I could always walk down the street and people would know me, I might get a nod or I’d shake hands but, literally, people are crossing the street just to come over to shake hands or to say ‘well done!'”

“So that knockdown – would it be wrong to say that I enjoyed getting back up? It built character. Now people can relate to me – everyone gets knocked down in life some way or other but not everyone gets back up and goes back into the trenches.”

“I know it’s not ideal to be getting knocked down but it was the main part of the fight – Irish-Boxing gave it the Round of the Year!”

Listen to Off The Brawl in full below: