A GRITTY display from Joe Doyle was not enough to secure passage to the National Schools Championship Final for the plucky Droitwich fighter.
Doyle, who is a member of the Droitwich Spa Boxing Academy, suffered a split-decision defeat and a first loss in almost two years against Patrick Lee from Bradford in the closely-fought semi-final contest in Evesham.
The encounter opened scrappily with the referee intervening on several occasions as both boxers sought to grab the initiative before Doyle’s left upper cuts and jabs came to the fore in the second against his physically-strong opponent.
With a place in the national final in Sheffield up-for-grabs, the two fighters went toe-to-toe in a brutal third round and although it was difficult to split them at the final bell, the judges narrowly swayed in Lee’s favour.
Despite his disappointment, Doyle, who is hoping to arrange a future re-match against his Yorkshire rival, can take tremendous heart from his championship campaign which included the capture of the Midlands title.
