Shannan Davey made his home town and his country proud last week when the champion boxer took the ring for his Olympic debut at the Paris Games.

The Narrabri born and bred 24-year-old, who has lived in Bundaberg for more than four years now, competed against Bulgarian Rami Mofid Kiwan in the 71kg preliminary round of 16 last Wednesday.

The opening round was quite tight between the two boxers, and after a hard-fought three minutes, the judges awarded the round to Kiwan.

Davey came out firing at the start of the second round to force Kiwan into strong defence, before the Bulgarian took control of the bout to claim the final two rounds and the match.

Despite the result, Davey told the Australian Olympic Squad website he relished his Olympic experience and getting to box in front of his family.

“The atmosphere is amazing and having all the Aussies here is very inspiring,” he said.

“It gave me a lot of motivation.

“It was my parents’ first time coming overseas as well so it was a special moment for us. I’m so gutted not to win, but I know they’re proud of me no matter what, win, lose or draw.”

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