It was something of a chess match indeed, with Kelsall boxing smartly but Quinn never able to apply sustained pressure on a constantly moving target that was occasionally popping in and out to score.
Quinn seemed to be catching up with Kelsall, slowing the pace a bit with some body work, starting to land some thuds, putting up a good fight in the eighth round, timing his punches a little better and putting up a good fight again.
But Kelsall had a disciplined approach and his movements didn't allow Quinn to grab him by the scruff of the neck and fight his way, instead he was happy with his boxing and movement.
It was a matter of preference, it seemed. Kelsall's jab was great all night, but Quinn landed some great combos and some brutal body shots in the tight 11th round.
Kelsall was sure he had won when he took his victory lap with 20 seconds left, but he thought Quinn had tried hard enough and let him go.
But in the end, the visitors won the title, improving to 12-0, while Quinn fell to 9-1-1.
That evening Belfast's Colm Murphy won the Commonwealth featherweight 'silver' title when a bloodied Jack Turner was stopped by a cut in the tenth and final round.
Another south city native, James McGivern, is a knockout of the year candidate as he defended his BUI Celtic lightweight title by knocking out previously unbeaten Rashid Omar with a beautiful left punch in the second round to improve his record to 9-0.
In the semi-finals, Pierce O'Leary was in top form, winning the Battle of Dublin as he dropped Darragh Foley with an uppercut in the third round and then took the shutout victory on points. The Australian-based Foley fought hard but was no match for the unbeaten 'Big Bang' until the 15th round.
