Giovanni De Carolis is the new WBA super-middleweight champion after an 11th round stoppage of Vincent Feigenbutz in Offenburg.
The Italian (24-6, KO12) was already on top when he rocked his German opponent with a huge right, pinned him against the ropes and forced referee Gustavo Padilla to step in and stop the contest.
De Carolis was claiming revenge on Feigenbutz (21-2, KO20) after a defeat in October when the interim title was on the line.
Stakes were high in the German city, with the WBA having announced the fight would be for their regular title after Andre Ward's move up to light-heavyweight and Fedor Chudinov's promotion to 'super' champion status.
And it was De Carolis who grasped the mettle and put the pressure on Feigenbutz with a number of early flurries putting him on top.
Feigenbutz finally came out of his shell by rocking his opponent in the fourth with a swinging right, and De Carolis had to deal with a cut eye for the second half of the fight after being caught in the sixth.
But he remained the harder worker and his endeavours paid off in the 11th, when he stunned Feigenbutz, pushed him back and landed a series of fight-ending punches with the German rocking on the ropes.
De Carolis immediately said he would be happy to take on Feigenbutz for a third time, but there could be plenty of interest from British fighters in challenging the new champion with George Groves, Martin Murray and Callum Smith all waiting in the wings.
"This is the work of a lifetime," the 31-year-old said. "You can always do better, but yes, I am satisfied."
Regarding talk of a second rematch, the Italian added, "It's no problem, I am a fighter, I fight."
On the undercard, Dereck Chisora (25-5, KO16) secured another quick victory with a second round stoppage of Hungary's Andras Csomor (14-9-1, KO12)