Rohan Daté dropped and defeated in Dubai
Rohan Daté has lost his undefeated record this afternoon under the Middle Eastern sun.
The Waterford welterweight fought England’s Tom Hill on the first of two big Probellum cards in Dubai and was dropped and defeated by his Middlesbrough opponent.
Daté lost a tight unanimous decision after eight rounds in one of the early bouts of a card headlined by Olympic gold medallist Estelle Mossley and also featuring Ireland’s Jono Carroll
Former top amateur Daté came into the Ireland v England bout in good form having dominated tough Spaniard Kelvin Dotel in December but found himself put down in the sixth by a long left hook from Hill and was eventually edged on the scorecards.
The rangy Redcard man was not a noted puncher coming into the contest and was a fighter whose ceiling had seemingly been reached, with defeats in an Area title fight to Ellis Corrie and to prospect Jack Rafferty last time out.
However, Hill was able to cause the upset, hurting Daté and dropping him heavily in round six.
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A largely nip-and-tuck fight otherwise, this 10-8 round proved potentially decisive on the cards with scores of 76-75 and 77-75 twice seeing his undefeated record smashed.
The defeat sees 28-year-old Daté fall to 13(9)-1(0)-1 while Hill improves to 10(2)-2(1) with a result that breaths new life into his career.
Whether the Dubai-based puncher will look to seek a rematch remains to be seen and, while the defeat is damaging, the well-supported Daté does have the time and the backing to rebound.
