Ennis’ Paddy Donovan recorded a devastating first round knockout in what was the seventh win of his professional boxing career.

A superb body shot from Donovan forced Jose Luis Castillo of Argentina to the ground in round one of their bout on Friday night at the Falls Park in Belfast. The fight lasted one minute and twenty two seconds and was part of the undercard for two-time Olympian Michael Conlan’s bout with ex junior featherweight champion TJ Doheny.

Donovan now has seven wins from as many outings in his blossoming professional career, five of these have been knockouts.

Trained by Andy Lee, the twenty two year old is expected to fight for a WBC Youth welterweight title in his next fight which is due to take place before the end of 2021.

Speaking on Friday night, Paddy expressed his delight with yet another step forward in his career. “It’s absolutely brilliant. The turnout. This is everything I dreamed of, I’ve been thinking about this for weeks and this was perfect. Thank you guys for showing your love and support for me. My team behind me are the best, I have to thank them too.

“I’m still only 22 so I still have a lot of learning to do. But if I keep doing business like this, I’m sure people across the water will keep an eye on me”.