Shane Mosley Jr. could be next up for unbeaten Derry middleweight Connor Coyle

The Galliagh middleweight stretched his unbeaten record to an impressive 21-0 with a dominant eight round points victory [77-75] over Englishman, Kyle Lomotey at Barnsley’s Oakwell Football Stadium.

It was Coyle’s first fight in just over 12 months and while he was frustrated by Lomotey [now 12-2-0] who was constantly on the run throughout, the Derry man was delighted to shake off the ring-rust.

The fact it was on the Sky Sports televised card with top UK promoter Boxxer was an added bonus and Coyle reckons it will give him the platform for bigger and better fights before the end of the year.

With current title holder Lara fighting Danny Garcia next month, Coyle would ideally like a crack at the winner but he’s also prepared for a world title eliminator with Shane Mosley Jr. who was handed the vacant No.1 spot by the WBA.

”​It was a good platform to get on, Sky Sports and Boxxer and I’m happy to have made my UK debut,” said Coyle. "I definitely enjoyed it.

“My opponent was tricky and awkward and it was hard to look good against him. I was trying to pin him down and he just kept running, he was scared and didn’t want to know.

"I definitely felt having the year off that there was some ring rust. I found it hard to find my distance, but hats off to Kyle, he's a very good mover and his footwork was excellent. When I wanted to land those big shots, he was able to get turned and he moved away.

"A year out, I felt a little bit rusty' I thought I was good in the gym but you need to be fighting regularly.

"I kept myself composed and relaxed and got the job done. I would’ve liked to have taken him out of there.

“He was nowhere near my level. He just didn’t want to know and was on his bike for the eight rounds.

"I got a good win, it was a good platform and I’m ready to get on an even bigger one on Sky Sports, hopefully before Christmas.”

Mosley, son of boxing legend Shane Mosley Snr., was beaten by Donegal man Jason Quigley in Las Vegas in 2021.

He’s worked his way into contention for world title honours with a recent victory over former world champion Daniel Jacobs and Coyle reckons it’s a likely match-up for him in the coming months.

“I would like to fight Lara next but now they’re putting Shane Mosley at No.1 and I'm No.2 so I’m not sure what will happen there.

“It looks like it might be me and Shane Mosley in a box-off, a world title eliminator next. That’s probably what’s most likely to happen.

“If not, then I would definitely love the Lara fight. I will be linked with Sky Sports now for my next few fights so we’ll just have to see what happens and what the promoters decide to do and what kind of fights they want.

"But I’m happy and I’d like to thank everyone for their support. I’d like to thank the fans who turned up and travelled over and everyone who tuned in at home in Derry.”