Kiaran Macdonald missed out on gold at the European U22 Championship but he can return to Sunderland from Russia proud of his silver medal.
After a brilliant week in Vladikavkaz, the Sunderland ABC flyweight today came up just short in the EUBC U52 kilo division, losing the final on a unanimous decision to a very good Bulgarian, Daniel Asenov.
It was possibly just a bout too far for Kieran, who began his campaign by breaking Russian hearts by eliminating home hope, Islam Abmuslimov 4-1 in their first round meeting on Monday.
Macdonald followed that up with two unanimous wins, over Serbia’s Dusan Janjic in the last eight and then Nodari Darbaidze, from Georgia in Saturday’s semi-final (Kiaran is pictured celebrating above).
It put him in good heart going into the final with Asenov, who had won all three of his contests 5-0.
And it began well enough for Macdonald who moved well and jabbed nicely in the early stages against the come-forward Bulgarian.
Asenov landed with a couple of combinations and long rights, but he missed with a lot too, with the England boxer in all blue certainly pleasing on the eye.
But the shorter, aggressive Asenov upped it in the second round, forcing Macdonald back and connecting with plenty of scoring shots.
GB Boxing coach, Nigel Davies, delivered a rousing message to Kiaran ahead of the last round and the quality Wearside southpaw gave it everything but Asenov seemed to be powered by Duracell batteries as he came forward relentlessly, delivering one excellent four-punch combo along the way.
Daniel raised his hands at the last bell, with justification, with Kiaran very sporting in his congratulations.
While it might not have been the colour he wanted, silver represents a great competition for the gifted 22-year-old.
Words: Roy Kelly Picture: EUBC
