Donnelly begins Commonwealth campaign tonight

Steven Donnelly begins his Commonwealth Games campaign on Friday.

Steven Donnelly begins his bid for Commonwealth Games glory on Friday night.

The Ballymena boxer takes to the ring for his opening contest at Glasgow’s SECC at 7.15pm.

Donnelly takes on Pakistan’s welterweight representative Hasan Asif.

It will be an eagerly-awaited moment for the 25-year-old after the disappointment of his previous Commonwealth Games appearance.

On that occasion, his interest in the Games was ended at the first hurdle when he lost to an Australian opponent.

Since then, however, Donnelly has matured both inside and out of the ring and his continued progress reached the highest point of his boxing career earlier this year when he won the Irish Senior welterweight title.

Steven will enjoy massive support in his hometown of Ballymena as he begins his campaign.