Promoter pays tribute following death of boxer John Cooney

The promoter of Irish boxer John Cooney, who died a week after a fight, has paid tribute to him.

The 28-year-old had been defending his Celtic super-featherweight title against Welshman Nathan Howells in Belfast on 1 February and died in hospital at the weekend having suffered an intracranial haemorrhage.

Speaking on RTÉ's Liveline, Mark Dunlop said it was a "very, very big night" for John Cooney as he was getting the chance to fight on terrestrial TV.

He had started the fight strong and almost had the fight won early on, Mr Dunlop said.

"We thought it was all going to be over to be honest. If we had another ten seconds, John would have actually defeated Howells in the first round."

The bout was then stopped the ninth round when Cooney was "felled by a body shot".

"He was then given immediate care by Dr Martin Duffy, who is the Chief Medical Officer for the British Boxing Board of Control in Belfast," said Mr Dunlop. "Him and his team assessed John and decided to take him to the Royal Victoria Hospital, Belfast, for precautionary measures, if anything."

Mr Dunlop said that at first, it was not recognised how serious it was.

"I never even gave it a second thought that John would be seriously hurt. I thought he was just taken for a precautionary measure," he said.

Mr Cooney's family held bedside vigils in the hospital and some signs of movement during the week had given them hope.

"You were always praying for a miracle after that point, but it was John’s time," said Mr Dunlop.

He said that Mr Cooney’s Welsh competitor was "completely shellshocked" by what happened.

"I spoke to Nathan for the first time this morning just to check in on him. It was the biggest night of his life also. He was obviously victorious but he can't even bring