Lee McGregor sensationally ripped the European Bantamweight title from the waist of Karim Guerfi with an impressive first round stoppage win at Bolton Whites Hotel on Friday night.
Guerfi (29-5, 9 KOs) was down three times in all in a frantic opening frame, as McGregor (10-0, 8 KOs) added to his British and Commonwealth titles on the latest MTK bill.
It was a contest that had been rescheduled and rearranged three times from its original November date, before the pair finally met in Lancashire.
It took the 24-year-old Scot less than a minute to have the champion on the deck, with a beautifully timed left hand to the body flooring Guerfi, who was hurt and did well to beat the count.
Just under a minute later, the Frenchman was dropped once again, with the left hand under the elbow again doing the damage.
Again, the 34-year-old survived the count, but he simply couldn’t handle ‘Lightning’, who was ruthless, and a peach of a left hook upstairs this time had his opponent down and then out as the referee waved the contest off.
🔥 Look back at all three knockdowns as @LeeMcGregor3 wins the European title with a devastating first round knockout win.#MTKFightNight #LeeMcGregor pic.twitter.com/j2yiJe479R
— MTK Global Boxing 🌍 (@MTKGlobal) March 19, 2021
“To be fair, I said that people would see a different Lee McGregor, and I owe a huge thanks to [my trainer] Ben Davison,” said McGregor post-fight.
“I’m a proper professional now, I was doing things wrong that I thought were right, but I stuck to the gameplan this time, and eventually, after three cancelled dates, it came off.
“There was no denying me tonight. There was no way I was returning to my beautiful daughter without this belt.”
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It could be a quick turnaround for McGregor with promoter Lee Eaton suggesting afterwards that he could feature on the undercard of stablemate and unified Super Lightweight champion Josh Taylor’s undisputed clash with Jose Ramirez on May 22 in Las Vegas, whilst a much-anticipated rematch with Kash Farooq could take place down the line.
Hughes claims Lonsdale belt
Maxi Hughes claimed the vacant British Lightweight title, as he stopped Paul Hyland Jr in eight rounds.
Hughes (23-5-2, 5 KOs) is undergoing a real career renaissance, having claimed the scalps of Jono Carroll and Viktor Kotochigov in 2020, and he backed those wins up by claiming a Lonsdale Belt here.
It was a competitive affair, but Hughes took the play away from the Irishman in the eighth, when a sustained assault on a tiring Hyland, punctuated by a wicked body shot, forced ‘Hylo’ to turn his back on the action in pain.
The 31-year-old needed no second invitation to land a huge right hand with his opponent’s back turned.
Referee Mark Lyson called a halt to the action, with Hyland Jr rising to his feet after a heavy knockdown in what was a bizarre ending. Hughes was well on top by the time of the stoppage.
🏆 The closing stages as @BOXERMAXIHUGHES became British lightweight champion.
📺 Main event coming up NEXT on IFL TV.
FREE LIVE STREAM ➡️ https://t.co/MFen2fSxTo#MTKFightNight #MaxiHughes #HughesHylandJnr pic.twitter.com/b1xClJ36Mk
— MTK Global Boxing 🌍 (@MTKGlobal) March 19, 2021
Shabaz Masoud (8-0, 2 KOs) took a step-up and floored former English champion Louis Norman three times on route to a fourth round stoppage win at Super Bantamweight.
The Stoke-on-Trent stylist had Norman (14-9-1, 2 KOs) down with a combination in the third, and the 27-year-old man was down twice in the fourth before the towel came in.
At Super Lightweight, Jamie Robinson (10-4-2, 3 KOs) and Billy Allington (8-1-3) couldn’t be separated in an eight round draw. Referee Howard Foster returned a 76-76 verdict.
Nathan Bendon caused an upset at Super Welterweight, as he took the unbeaten record of Eryk Apresyan with a 57-56 scorecard for referee, Mark Lyson.
A point deduction for Apresyan (7-1, 5 KOs) in the sixth and final round for pushing Bendon (4-3-1, 1 KO) down proved the difference.
Sean Duffy (4-0, 2 KOs) stopped Paul Holt (7-10, 2 KOs) with a body shot in the third of a four rounder at Lightweight.
