Brett McGinty overcomes hand issue to defeat Patrik Fiala

Brett McGinty stayed on course to realise his hopes of a title shot, but a hand injury could keep those plans on ice a little longer.

The St Johnston man improved his record to 7-0, maintaining his unbeaten streak with a dogged points win on Saturday night.

McGinty was given a 58-56 points win against Patrik Fiala at the National Stadium.

A troublesome left hand raised its swells again, though, and McGinty admitted some frustration.

“I made life difficult for myself,” McGinty said. “I hurt the hand and that affected me in the second half of the fight. All around, it was a decent performance. 

“That’s two fights in a row. It’s recurring so maybe I might need time to get it looked at properly. That’s the main priority at the moment. It just needs a professional opinion. I had no issues with it in camp, but it did affect me tonight there.”

McGinty commands a fiercely loyal - and loud - support. The till counters at shows began to take note when upwards of 100 travelled to Coventry for a show-opener and the Skydome’s roof was lifted from its beams. 

That McGinty is a fighter at heart also grabs attention.

He said: “I get a great crowd and it’s brilliant to have them here. It’s a big expense for each and every one of them. It’s a big commitment for them to come down and support me. They make a big racket and it’s great to be involved in an atmosphere like that.”

Fiala, a 26-year-old Czech, took a couple of fierce body blows from McGinty in the early rounds and the Ricky Hatton-trained middle exerted serious pressure.

McGinty lifted his foot off the accelerator in the fourth before he got the right hand to use in the fifth.

McGinty said: “I’m rarely involved in a poor fight. “I started the fight great and I felt really good. I hurt my hand in the first and it wasn’t really bad. I hurt it badly in the third. It affected me mentally and I took some stupid shots. It’s just one of those things and I just have to get on with it.

“I don’t want to make excuses either. To be fair to him, he was there for a fight and he gave me a good fight. It was a good, hard fight.”

Fiala drops to 5-4-2 with former Oakleaf ABC starlet McGinty maintaining his unbeaten record. He’ll need an upgrade and momentum now - injury depending. 

He said: “People want to see exciting domestic fights, with titles on the line.”