IN WITH A SHOUT St Anne’s Ray Moylette reacts after being declared the winner over Athlone’s Wayne Kelly following their 64kg bout at IABA National Elite Championships last weekend. Pic: Sportsfile
Daniel Carey
ISLANDEADY boxer Ray Moylette says there’s a sense of unfinished business about next Friday’s National Men’s Elite 64kg Championship final against Dean Walsh. The contest – a repeat of last January’s epic encounter – will be televised on TG4.
Reflecting on his split-decision defeat to the Wexford man – a bout he felt he won – former European champion Moylette told The Mayo News that next weekend’s repeat has thrown up the same opponent, the same venue, and the same Elite final. But this time, he vows, it’ll be a different result.
“I’ve carried that burden now for the ten or 11 months, with regrets and ifs and buts – things I could have done or should have done,” Moylette acknowledged. “I felt myself I did enough to win it, and then when it was taken from me, I suppose [there’s] a bit of a grudge held now. But I’m not worried about that. I can’t do anything about that. I’m just worried about my own performance.”
The Mayoman – who runs the Sting Ray Fitness Academy in Westport – won a split decision against Wayne Kelly (Athlone) in last Saturday’s semi-final after a bout he describes as a ‘close encounter’ and ‘a game of chess’ between two counter-punchers.
“It wasn’t physically demanding, in that I wasn’t out of breath the whole way through the fight or after it,” he explained. “But … it was edge-of-the-seat stuff. It was punch for punch, in and out.”
Though the possibility of an Olympic qualifier looms for the winner, the former World Youth champion says he’s ‘not looking past Friday’ at this moment in time. Moylette and his coach Martin Brennan have ‘travelled a fair bit’ – sparring and doing exhibitions in Canada, Birmingham and all over Ireland – as well as training ‘twice a day’ in Westport.
On Friday night the St Anne’s clubman watched a recording of Walsh’s victory over James Cleary (Olympic) and has spotted ‘some things’ he can work on. Speaking to The Mayo News after the heartbreak of last January, coach Brennan said: “I’d love another crack at Dean Walsh”. That chance comes next Friday.
Moylette gets another title shot
