Eamonn Loughran (born 5 June 1970) is an Irish former

professional boxer Professional boxing, or prizefighting, is regulated, sanctioned boxing. Professional boxing bouts are fought for a purse that is divided between the boxers as determined by contract. Most professional bouts are supervised by a regulatory autho ...

who competed from 1987 to 1996. He held the WBO

welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

title from 1993 to 1996, successfully defending the title five times. At regional level he held the Commonwealth welterweight title from 1992 to 1993.

Amateur career

As an amateur, Loughran boxed for

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

and won a silver medal at the 1987

AIBA Youth World Boxing Championships The IBA Youth World Boxing Championships and the IBA Junior World Boxing Championships are amateur boxing competitions organised by the International Boxing Association (IBA), the sport's governing body, for "Youth" competitors—ages 17 or 18 ...

Havana Havana (; Spanish: ''La Habana'' ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of the La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

defeating the

n and American fighters on the way to the final. Loughran then turned professional later that year.

Professional career

Loughran fought out of the Breen Gym in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

and, in December 1987, fought his first professional fight at the

Ulster Hall The Ulster Hall is a concert hall and grade A listed building in Belfast, Northern Ireland. Situated on Bedford Street in Belfast city centre, the hall hosts concerts, classical recitals, craft fairs and political party conferences. History ...

, Belfast,

County Antrim County Antrim (named after the town of Antrim, ) is one of six counties of Northern Ireland and one of the thirty-two counties of Ireland. Adjoined to the north-east shore of Lough Neagh, the county covers an area of and has a population o ...

, Northern Ireland, in which he beat

Glaswegian The Glasgow dialect, popularly known as the Glasgow patter or Glaswegian, varies from Scottish English at one end of a bipolar linguistic continuum to the local dialect of West Central Scots at the other. Therefore, the speech of many Glaswegia ...

Adam Muir on a card that included Dave "Boy" McAuley and Andy Holligan. It was five years, during which he fought twenty professional fights, before Loughran challenged for his first title belt. Loughran is a former Commonwealth Light Welterweight Title holder and won the WBO

Welterweight Welterweight is a weight class in combat sports. Originally the term "welterweight" was used only in boxing, but other combat sports like Muay Thai, taekwondo, and mixed martial arts also use it for their own weight division system to classify th ...

Title and lost on his sixth defence in the first round to José Luis Lopez in March 1996 after which Loughran announced his retirement.

Post retirement

Loughran never returned to the ring, or to boxing, after the defeat to Lopez. He now lives in his native Ballymena.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Loughran, Eamonn 1970 births Living people Sportspeople from Ballymena Male boxers from Northern Ireland World Boxing Organization champions Irish male boxers Welterweight boxers Boxers from County Antrim