Jay Byrne beats Scottish champ to win BBBoC Celtic title

If Jay Byrne does indeed retire after his fight tonight he will do so having scored the biggest win of his career.

The Dubliner dominated Scottish middleweight champ Marc Kerr over ten rounds to win the BBBoC Celtic light middleweight title in Glasgow this evening.

The pair clashed in the headline fight of a Kynoch Boxing dinner show at the Crowne Plaza Hotel, with Byrne claiming the belt and becoming 154lbs champion of Ireland, Scotland, and Wales.

‘The Negotiator’ scored a sensational knockout win over Crank Whitehouse to take the BUI Celtic welterweight title this time last year but he was defeated in three further title fights in 2018.

Approaching his fifth title clash, Byrne stated that he was likely to retire afterwards – citing the difficulties of balancing boxing, work, and family.

Looking to make a big last stand, the 32-year-old did just that, outpointing Kerr in hostile territory – a massive win for a fighter who entered the pro game looking to register just a single ‘W’.

The final scorecards read 99-91, 98-92, and 97-94 in favour of the Irishman.

The win sees Byrne claim the vacant belt and improve his record to a perhaps final 8(2)-6(2) while Kerr drops to 12(1)-2(0).

Byrne’s retirement talk was be no means conclusive and there is a feeling that the Loughlinstown man could be tempted into a fight for the Irish title – however, for now, he can bask in the glow of a major win and one which he would never have dreamed of just a few short years ago.