Wright was today feeling "frustrated" after losing his international light-welterweight showdown in Ireland against Paul McCloskey on Saturday night.




he undefeated Ulsterman was awarded a 97-93 decision by referee David Irving after 10 cracking rounds between two in-form and fully committed fighters at the University Arena in Limerick.

"I must look forward to my next English title defence now," said Wright, who will meet Derby's Scott Haywood in early September.

"I've held the belt for three years and it is part of my furniture and it's going to stay there.

"I'm just gutted that I didn't get the win against McCloskey.

"I felt I outworked him and hit him with the cleaner shots.

"I agree it was close, but you only had to look at our faces in the hotel the morning after.

"Paul was all bashed up and there was hardly a mark on me."

It wasn't an injustice on the scale suffered by a poor little French spy on our shores a couple of centuries ago, but the width of the scoreline made monkeys of some of us.

This reporter had McCloskey winning 96-95, while some felt Wright had nicked it. The Hartlepool camp were convinced they deserved to win.

It was that close a scrap. And what a scrap, as the two friends slugged it out in the centre of the ring for much of the 10 rounds

And had it been in Hartlepool rather than the heart of Ireland there is every chance the result would have been reversed.

In a tight fight, the home star invariably gets the nod – that's boxing – though Mr Irving's assessment looked well off the scale.

"We thought Nigel shaded it," said Cope. "He had the better quality of shots, especially to the body.

"But you are never going to get the decision in a close fight in Ireland.

"Nigel used the jab in the middle rounds and scored with the double jab and, personally, I believed he finished the stronger.

"I did think the added quality came from Nigel, but obviously the referee went with McCloskey in the close rounds.

"At the end of the day, if you are going to get it on points then you are going to have to win big.

"It's frustrating because I believe it's a fight we could have won.

"But you can't go and give the home fighter the first two or three rounds and expect to get the verdict."