DAVID DOLAN suffered his first pro defeat last night, losing in the final of the new knock-out style Prizefighter event at Bethnal Green in London.
The Hartlepool fighter had won through a quarter-final and semi-final to earn his place in the final where he lost to Belfast's Martin Rogan.
Dolan's hopes took an immediate knock when he was sent to the seat of his trunks in the opening seconds b
y a short right to the head.
Rogan's advances were slowed almost immediately when a clash of heads left him with a diagonal cut which ran from the bridge of his nose above his right eye and while he opted to remain on the front foot, he was caught coming in with increasing regularity.
A little afters from both fighters after the bell at the end of the first round earned them both a severe ticking off from referee Marcus McDonnell.
A see-saw second round saw the action switch first one way and then the other. Dolan had the better of the early part before Rogan came roaring back with a pair of late left hooks to the head.
Dolan needed a big finish in the third and final round if he was to take the title but things moved out of his grasp when a right hook to the head caught him off balance and saw him touch down momentarily to earn a second count.
Dolan threw everything at the Irishman towards the end but Rogan took it all and replied with gusto, leaving the crowd on their feet applauding both boxers at the end.
The result handed down by judges Ian John Lewis, Ritchie Davies and Phil Edwards saw a disappointed Dolan beaten with scores of 29-25, 29-27 and 28-27.
SEE Saturday's Mail for full story and pictures
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