The manager of boxer John Cooney, who sadly passed away on Saturday, has said he feels like stepping away from the sport.

The death of super-featherwight John Cooney, from Galway, was announced on Saturday - a week after he took part in a bout against Nathan Howells in defence of his Celtic title at the Ulster Hall in Belfast.

Mr Cooney underwent immediate surgery following the contest but remained in a critical condition during the past week, and his death was sadly confirmed by his manager Mark Dunlop of MHD Promotions at the weekend.

Read more: John Cooney passes away after week-long battle as promoter confirms tragic news

Read more: Barry McGuigan leads the tributes following death of Irish boxer

Mr Dunlop has said he is now considering his future in the sport following the tragedy.

"Half of me wants to pack it in," he told BBC Radio Ulster on Monday.

"It's put me off maybe the whole thing of promoting. But then would it do John injustice if I packed in too because he lived and loved boxing? Only time will tell how I feel but right now we're all in mourning and people are saying things they shouldn't say, they don't mean."

He also spoke about John's time in hospital, saying: "Honestly, his family - you know, John had a large family - held almost a vigil, round the clock, for seven days. I think on the Tuesday, he showed some signs of life. May God strike me dead, it was crazy, I was praying beside his bed. It was just me and him there and I said 'John show me something' and he actually twitched his arm twice. I went and got the nurse and told her what had happened.

"And then before I left I said 'Lord show me one thing, show me something, show me some hope', and he coughed. I couldn't believe it. It would show that there was still signs of life in the brain. Coughing is an involuntary reaction so we all had hope. But as the days went on, there were a couple more movements but then on Saturday, John passed away to everyone's devastation.

"I'm a believer in God and hope. It is one thing that God gives. We all had hope but unfortunately it wasn't to be. One of John's sayings, himself, is that tomorrow is not promised and he certainly lived for the day. He certainly lived for the day.

"He deserves all this attention that he's getting. He was a great character, charisma. He had a big future."

He continued: "You know, in reality, we were all hoping to be celebrating a victory for John in the Ulster Hall. To be here talking about this now is just devastating for all concerned."

Asked whether things could be safer in boxing, he said: "Boxing is a dangerous sport. Everyone who signs up for boxing - especially professional boxing, with the British Boxing Board of Control they have a meeting with whatever area they're trying to join. So John had one. John joined the Northern Ireland area and had actually had a meeting with the late Hugh Russell, and with John Gray who is a retired neurosurgeon in my house here in Dundonald. Basically, he was told of all the pitfalls of professional boxing, and the dangers. Every fighter knows the dangers but, like everything, no one thinks it's going to come to their door - if that makes sense.

"In a way we're all ignorant of the fact that it's never going to come to our door. I've been in involved in boxing for 40 years. I've never experienced anything like this. I've never even come close to it. As much as it's a dangerous sport, the fatalities are rare - but they're there. It's no worse than horse racing or motorcycle racing. These are dangerous sports. You have to commend every athlete who steps in the ring."

Mr Dunlop also shared some words for John Cooney's opponent, Nathan Howells, and his team.

"I've spoken to his team and they're devastated," he said. "I haven't spoken to Nathan in particular but I've spoken to his team and they're gutted, shellshocked. I don't know how it will affect them long-term. He [Nathan] will have to deal with it. John's family have accepted, as we all have, it was a boxing match. It's a sport.

He added: "Boxing is about hitting and not getting hit, but not going out there to damage someone. They're all athletes. It's about winning a contest. It's a contact sport. "

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