IT was a mixed night for Irish boxers at the National Guard Armory in Philadelphia on Saturday, with wins for Simon O'Donnell and Patrick Hyland, while a controversial loss for Paulie Hyland was the only disappointment on the night.

Middleweight O'Donnell racked up his seventh win as a professional when he stopped Antonio Baker (6-11) in the fifth of their scheduled eight round fight. Baker, a tough journeyman pro and late replacement for Adrian Redmond, had only been stopped twice in his career before the fight - to light heavyweight Chad Dawson and Contender star Peter Manfredo Jr. - so O'Donnell, now 7-1, was joining decent company in finishing the 31-year-old inside the distance.

"Simon keeps improving and has a huge upside. If he stays on his slick boxing style, he can't be beat. His only shortcoming is trying to stand toe-to-toe and have a rumble. He knocked out a guy that doesn't get stopped in Antonio Baker," said promoter Tom Moran.

Trainer and manager Paddy Hyland had two of his sons in action, but the delight of seeing Patrick win was tempered by the close decision loss suffered by younger son Paul.

The 23-year-old was originally meant to fight a six round bout but found out, just before the first bell, that it would only be a four round contest against Lucian Gonzalez, a last minute replacement for Felix Flores. Despite many neutrals seeing the Irishman as the winner, Hyland was knocked down in the third and the judges gave a unanimous decision to the Puerto Rican, who is now 8-4-1.

"Paul dominated the first three rounds and got caught. We knew going into the last that it was a draw and if the last round had been twenty seconds longer, Paul would have been knocked him out. He will bounce back. It was an excellent fight, hard and skillful," said Hyland the trainer.

"I thought I won, myself. I got caught with a shot in the third but got up and finished strong. When the decision was announced the place started booing. I nearly stopped him myself at the end of the fourth. It just didn't go our way - local boy, local judges," said Paul, who is now 12-1.

Older brother Patrick (15-0) had no such problems and went toe to toe with Elvis Martinez (11-27-2), getting the better of his opponent and stopping the Dominican after 1:24 of the second round.

"The other lad came out to fight and caught Patrick with a few good shots in the first 20 or 30 seconds. But, at the end of the exchange, the guy stood back and Patrick caught him with a left hook that put him on his arse," said father Paddy.

Martinez was able to hold on until the end of the round but did not learn any lessons from the first three minutes.

"He came out again in the second and tried to outgun Patrick, but Patrick punches too hard and doubled a left hook to the body that yer man didn't like. He dropped him twice in the second round, and it was a right hand and left hook that ended it," continued Hyland senior.

New York fans may get to see Patrick and Eddie Hyland fighting in November. Paul will take a break and return to action in January, when all three brothers are slated to fight on another card in Philadelphia. Tracy Patterson was in the Hyland corner last weekend and will work with the brothers when they are stateside before fights.

In the main event of the evening, Kassim Ouma (26-5-1) stopped Martinus Clay (13-8-4) in the sixth round.

About 1,000 fans came out to see the Philly Boxing's first Irish-themed show in recent times, and the response left Moran optimistic about the future of such promotions.

"Overall a great show and wonderful start building the Irish boxing audience in Philly. The Hyland brothers were instant stars for the Philly crowd," Moran said.

"Paul got a bad decision but give him credit. He stepped up to fight a tough guy and beat him three of four rounds. Getting knocked down hurt him but he dominated and controlled most of the fight. Pajo (Patrick) showed he has one-punch knockout power and just did the business."

In other news, Geesala, Co. Mayo native Henry Coyle (8-1) will have his first fight as a professional in his native county when he appears on the undercard of Bernard Dunne's next fight at the International Events Arena at the Breaffy House Resort in Castlebar on November 15.

"It's always been a dream of mine to fight as a pro in Ireland. To get a chance right here at home in Mayo is the icing on the cake," said Coyle last week.

The 24-year-old was last in action when he beat Alan Moore on August 2 in Indiana.

Finally, John Duddy will fight on November 21 at the Roseland Ballroom in New York. Duddy will top the bill on Gotham Boxing's "The Grande Event" which also features unbeaten middleweight Peter Quillin (20-0), Pawel Wolak (22-1) and Jorge Theron (22-0-1).

Michi Munoz is the man most likely to be in the other corner against Duddy in the scheduled 10 round fight. Tickets are available in regular outlets from this week.