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Super-featherweight boxer John Cooney is in intensive care after his defeat by Welshman Nathan Howells in Belfast on Saturday.<\/b><\/p>\n
The contest was stopped in the ninth round at the Ulster Hall in what was Cooney’s first defence of his Celtic super-featherweight title.<\/p>\n
The 28-year-old was assessed by the onsite medical team in the ring before being taken out on a stretcher and transferred to Royal Victoria Hospital in Belfast for further treatment.<\/p>\n
In a statement on Monday, Cooney’s promoter Mark Dunlop said his fighter suffered “an intracranial haemorrhage and underwent immediate surgery to relieve the pressure on his brain”.<\/p>\n
He added: “John is currently in the intensive care unit and in the hospital’s capable hands of the ICU team.”<\/p>\n
The Galway boxer won the Celtic title with a first-round win over Liam Gaynor in November 2023 at a sold-out 3Arena in Dublin, on the undercard of Katie Taylor’s revenge win over Chantelle Cameron.<\/p>\n
Cooney then spent a year out of the ring recovering from a hand injury before returning to beat Tampela Maharusi of Tanzania in October 2024 in London.<\/p>\n
He had been training with former world title challenger Zelfa Barrett in Manchester before his meeting with Howells.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n