Runaway Favourite

Donnelly is something of an expert over three rounds and will take some stopping. Matt Bozeat previews Ultimate Boxxer.

- Matt Bozeat

THE latest Ultimate Boxxer features a former Olympian looking to push his career along.

Steven Donnelly is included in the line up for Friday’s (September 20) superwelterweight tournament at London’s O2 Indigo – after he pestered the promoters on social media.

The 31-year-old from Ballymena is 5-0 (1) and has a proven track record over three rounds. He had 110 amateur bouts after taking up boxing at 13, many in internationals. Donnelly won bronze at the Commonwealth Games in both 2014, at welterweight, and last year, at middleweight.

On his way to bronze in Glasgow, Donnelly was a unanimous points winner over Custio Clayton, a Canadian who’s ranked in the top 10 by both the IBF and WBO after winning all 17 fights.

The highlight for Donnelly was his appearance at the Rio Olympics. He qualified through World Series of Boxing and missed out on a medal in Rio after losing a split to Mohammed Rabii in the quarter finals.

Donnelly thought he did enough to defeat Morocco’s 2015 World champion – and says he wants to put the record straight in the pros. Rabii is currently 9-0.

Donnelly, trained at Belfast’s Glennon ABC by Gerard McManus, is 5ft 10 ½ ins tall and describes himself as “a very fast counter puncher who can switch.”

There’s weight behind his counter punches as well. At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, he took around 30 seconds to unravel Pakistan’s Hassan Asif with right hands.