Brett McGinty lost out to World Elite bronze medallist Troy Isley in Boston tonight.
As part of the first of a three-leg Elite International, McGinty – on an 18-strong Irish team in Boston – squared up to the formidable Virginia man and battled for the duration.
Isley, who won a bronze medal at the 2017 World Elites in Hamburg and who who earned a silver at the 2018 Strandja Tournament in Sofia last month, might have taken a deserved win, but McGinty certainly seemed at home on the lofty stage.
McGinty had some big moments against a top-class opponent in the red corner at the Royale Complex in what was his first ever Elite International bout.
The iron-fisted St Johnston puncher – fresh from his Irish Elite final loss to Michael Nevin in Dublin last month – will have caught the eye of any watching suitors again.
The Oakleaf ABC middleweight managed to land some whopping body blows on Isley and, while he could have no complaints about the verdict, he will surely be content with a display of such grit and guts.
Isley was docked a point in the final stanza and McGinty continued to unload the gun, but it was the American who took the unanimous decision win.
Both nations meet again in Springfield on 15th March and Manchester, New Hampshire on March 21.