A Belfast boxer has admitted he almost quit the sport he loves following his controversial draw with Gerard Hughes, and losing his cousin and "best friend" to cancer a few weeks later.

Ruadhan Farrell fought Hughes back in December 2023 at the SSE Arena. He admits that night was the "lowest I've felt in boxing" after referee Hugh Russell Jnr scored the bout 57-57.

It was a contentions decision after Farrell produced a rousing display to get an overwhelming vote by many at ringside, but not on the official scorecard.

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It was a massive blow for Farrell, who had hoped to dedicate a win to his cousin Mark McDonald. Two weeks later Mark sadly died after a battle with cancer.

Farrell told Belfast Live: "That result was really tough to take. A couple of weeks after that I lost my cousin to cancer, and I was dedicating that fight to him.

"I remember Mark ringing me before the fight saying 'I know you've got this', and then not being able to dedicate the win to him was gutting.

"I was close to packing it all in. I had a couple of bad weeks because I knew I won. But it doesn't change the draw on my record.

"It doesn't matter what people say, the draw is there. I know in my head I won, but it is still recorded as a draw."

Farrell regrouped to win the BUI Celtic super-bantamweight title against Connor Kerr at the Ulster Hall in March last year. He wore Mark's name on his shorts.

He believes the past 18 months have 'made him stronger' and now he is ready to set the record straight against Hughes when they rematch at the SSE on March 1.

"It has made me stronger and more mature as a person. I have changed. It is all down to the people around me keeping me on the ground," Farrell said.

"This is a massive card and there is a lot at stake in our fight. The other fights will be exciting too.

"This is an eight-rounder. The last one was a six-rounder, and I feel if I had the two extra rounds the last time then I would have stopped him."

He added: "People have talked about the first fight, but people know I won that fight by five rounds to one. I beat him seven days a week and twice on a Sunday, in my eyes.

"It is about putting it to bed. I boxed him last time, but this time I will be aggressive and will knock him out. I like Gerard and there's respect, but he is in my way and I want to move up the ladder.

"I think I will KO Gerard Hughes on March 1."

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