Homecoming heartbreak for Ray Moylette as he tastes first defeat in Mayo

Ray Moylette will come back stronger for it.

Mayo's Moylette might have lost his first ever fight as a professional but he won over plenty of fans on Friday night by climbing off the canvas when it looked for all the world that he was finished midway through his WBC International Silver lightweight title fight. Sugar Ray's homecoming didn't go to plan as he fell to a split decision to experienced Mexican Christian Uruzquieta at the Royal Theatre in Castlebar. After a back-and-forth opening few rounds in which Moylette arguably enjoyed the better of the exchanges, the fight turned on its head in the fifth when Moylette was dropped by a left hook and appeared to be in serious trouble, surviving solely on heart after a second knockdown and going against the advice of his corner to hold on for dear life, instead using daring head movement to see out the round and return to his stool. When the stoppage looked imminent for the visitor, Moylette leapt off his stool as if he'd never been floored and began using his boxing again to let his opponent know that it would take more than that to keep a Mayo man down. Moylette broke out a Billy Joe Saunders moment in the seventh round, when he mocked a missed Uruzquieta haymaker by looking off into the distance but early body shots from the Mexican looked to have taken their toll in the final few rounds, when Moylette wasn't his usual fluid self. Uruzquieta celebrated immediately after the final bell but it was always going to be close and when the scorecards arrived, two judges could only separate the fighters by one point. It was the third judge, who curiously gave Uruzquieta a 96-92 advantage, that proved decisive and forced Moylette to swallow the bitter pill of defeat for the first time in the paid ranks. "I just want to thank everyone for the massive support. That was unbelievable," Moylette said after the bout. "I was out on my feet in the fifth round and I didn't want to get up but hearing your voice threw me off the floor. I couldn't sit down with everyone who was here. "I apologise to everyone. This is a signature of Mayo at this stage because I just missed out at the final hurdle. I apologise to everyone that I didn't bring the belt home. "I had a tough couple of months but walking into this arena, having everyone here for me... to come up from where I came from, I already won before we started this fight at all. "I didn't bring back the belt but I'm a winner in here tonight and I did this for us all."