Paddy Barnes’ successful professional debut ended in rather odd circumstances

Paddy Barnes has safely manoeuvred his way to a 1-0 professional record.

The Belfast boxer made his pro debut on Saturday night in his home city and encountered very little in the way of resistance against unfancied Bulgarian Stefan Slavchev who carried a record of 8-24-1 into the bout in the Titanic Exhibition Centre. Coasting towards a routine decision victory in the fight, scheduled for six rounds, Barnes was largely comfortable but for the disruptive tactics of his debut opponent. Slavchev attempted to frustrate Barnes - a two-time Olympic bronze medallist - by utilising nefarious strategies, including repeated attempts at holding. The underdog knocked Barnes off his feet in the third round with his grappling gameplan, leaving the Olympian visibly irritated. The referee in charge of the tilt saw enough when, in the fourth round, Slavchev hoisted Barnes up on his left shoulder in a move that looked like it belonged in a WWE ring. Slavchev was rightly disqualified and Barnes' hand was raised, as was expected, in front of a deafening Belfast crowd. "It was hard to pin him down," Barnes said after the strange end to proceedings. "I was trying too hard to impress. You didn't see the best of me." Barnes abandoned amateur boxing, like Michael Conlan and Katie Taylor, after the Rio 2016 judging controversy and he is expected to fight on the monster St. Patrick's Day card in Madison Square Garden. And here's how Twitter responded to Barnes' first outing on the professional circuit. https://twitter.com/alflats11/status/795043390308175872 https://twitter.com/PaulieDGibson/status/795042318671876096 https://twitter.com/LeePower/status/795042297092177920 https://twitter.com/mattmacklin/status/795041486345748480 https://twitter.com/lynseykatieM/status/795039684225339392 https://twitter.com/Steepheno/status/795038440073101312 https://twitter.com/mattinho/status/795036516120690688 https://twitter.com/Mccann7Brian/status/795035999726354432 Who are the winners of the much-coveted 2016 Wooly Awards? Find out in our GAA Hour Special