By Jonathan Brown
DONAGH Keary moved to 5-1-0 as a pro with a 60-54 points victory over journeyman Jake Pollard on Friday night.
Taking to the ring at the revamped Waterfront Hall venue, Keary produced a comprehensive performance across six rounds, utilising fine footwork and clever shot selection to overcome the Bradford-based veteran with ease.
The 21-year-old from Castlewellan was fighting on the undercard of Paddy Gallagher v Bahadur Karami, the main event at the Waterfront.
Gallagher’s fight was moved to the headline slot when Keary’s stablemate and sparring partner Conor Quinn failed to make the eight stone limit ahead of his Commonwealth title bout with Wrexham’s Jake Dodd, with Belfast fighter Gallagher marking his return to the ring after a seven-year absence with a unanimous victory over Iranian Karami.
As for Keary, the ‘Irish Kid’ faced some pressure from 100-fight veteran Pollard in the early rounds, with the Englishman displaying all his ring craft to spoil Keary’s work.
In the fourth round of Keary’s first six-rounder as a pro, the Castlewellan native started to penetrate Pollard’s defence with stiff long-range shots, having worked the body in the first half of the fight.
Although the stoppage Keary was perhaps hoping for didn’t arrive, his hand was raised after a shutout decision from the judges, marking a successful return to the ring for the first time this year.
Keary, speaking the day after the bout, was full of respect for his opponent.
“He’s [Pollard] a hard man – I was hitting him with everything to the body and he was taking it.
“He told me I hurt him, but I didn’t have a clue I hurt him. “Most people would have went down, but he was tough.”
