WATCH: Big 2013 Knockout from Steven Donnelly

Ballymena welterweight Steven Donnelly continues to train away following his impressive Rio Olympic campaign.

Donnelly was Ireland’s best performing boxer at the Games last August, winning two fights and reaching the quarter finals.

A move to the pros afterwards looked likely but, despite interest from numerous parties, a deal never materialised. The 2014 Commonwealth Games bronze medalist would therefore return to action in the vest in December, winning an international middleweight contest against Englishman Lewis Richardson, but he was unable to enter the 2017 Elite Senior Championships due to illness.

28 year old Donnelly continues to train with the Irish High Performance team, and was one of six boxers awarded a grant by Sport Ireland last week, but he is keeping his options open regarding a move to the pros.

An accomplished fighter on the front-foot and the back-foot, as well as being able to switch-hit, many feel Donnelly has all the attributes to be a successful pro – and some archive footage of a big knockout certainly shows he has pop in his punches.

The video comes from this weekend back in 2013, where Donnelly headlined an All Saints club show at the Adair Arms.

Taking on a Waterford opponent, Donnelly inflicts two first round counts before putting his man down and out in the second.

The fight came at the start of Donnelly’s resurgence in the sport following a period in the wilderness, and the Ulsterman would go on to claim his sole Irish title, win Commonwealth Games redemption, impress in the World Series of Boxing, and be one of the few bright lights for Ireland at a miserable Olympic Games.

Watch Steven Donnelly’s 2013 knockout below:

It isn’t Donnelly’s only impressive stoppage win, with this effort from his opening Commonwealth Games contest also sticking out in the memory:

What’s next for Steven Donnelly?