Boxer John Cooney is in intensive care in the Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast after having to undergo emergency brain surgery following Saturday night's Ulster Hall fight night.

The super-featherweight boxer, a Galway native, was beaten by Welshman Nathan Howells in Belfast on Saturday night after the fight was stopped in the ninth round.

The contest was Cooney's first defence of his Celtic super-featherweight title but he was taken to Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast afterwards.

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The boxer suffered "an intracranial haemorrhage and underwent immediate surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain" according to a statement from promoter Mark Dunlop on Monday afternoon.

"John is currently in the intensive care unit and in the hospital's capable hands of the ICU team," he added.

The Galway boxer won the Celtic title with a first-round win over Liam Gaynor in November 2023 at a sold-out 3Arena in Dublin, on the undercard of Katie Taylor's revenge win over Chantelle Cameron.

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