Henry Coyle ensured his large fan club went home happy with an exciting points win over late substitute Sergejs Savrinovics on the Hunky Dorys Fight Night at the Breaffy House Resort, Castlebar.

Coyle, the local hero was having his first ever pro fight on Irish soil but he had to deal with a last minute change of opponent when original foe Dee Mitchell was forced to withdraw – after he had weighed in for the contest!

Mitchell’s medical documentation was a few days out of date so the search was on for a ready, willing and able replacement – step in Latvia’s Sergejs Savrinovics who travelled from Riga on the morning of the bout having been in training for another fight which had also just fallen through.

Coyle made a typically fast start but it quickly became clear that if Savrinovics arrived in a hurry he was in no hurry to leave Castlebar. The Latvian also returned plenty fire of his own and looked particularly useful with his right uppercut.

Coyle though would not be denied in front of his home fans and was relentless constantly pressing forward and forcing Savrinovics to the ropes. After 8 rounds there was no doubt about the winner with Coyle taking a well deservd 78 – 74 points verdict much to the delight of a packed house in Castlebar.

Afterwards Coyle said that he’s only give himself a “5 out of 10”, for his performance but the Geesala native promised to bring a world title back to County Mayo.

In other action on the undercard Stephen Haughian avenged last years controversial points defeat to Giammario Grassellini. This time around there was no disputing the verdict as Haughian comfortably outpointed the Italian over 8 rounds to reverse the only defeat on his record which now stands at 16 – 1 (6 KOs).

John O’Donnell warmed up for his British welterweight title eliminator against Young Muttley next month with an impressive third round stoppage win over Suleyman Dag.

Omagh’s Damian Taggart bounced back from the first defeat of his career to stop Jevgenijs Fjodorovs in three rounds while Canadian – Irishman Logan McGuinness also enjoyed a third round stoppage win over Poland’s Marcin Kulba.

IN the show opener Brendan Ingle’s latest protégé Steve Barnes got his pro career off to a winning start with a landslide points win over Piotr Niesporak.

Full Results:

Bernard Dunne bt Cristian Faccio TD 7  
Henry Coyle bt Sergejs Savrinovics PTS 8  
Stephen Haughian bt Giammario Grassellini PTS 8
John O'Donnell bt Suleyman Dag TKO 3
Damian Taggart bt Jevgenijs Fjodorovs TKO 3 
Logan McGuinness bt Marcin Kulba TKO 3  
Steve Barnes bt Piotr Niesporek PTS 4