Sunday 28 February 2016 02:04, UK
Isaac Lowe produced a classy stoppage win over Marco McCullough to claim the Commonwealth featherweight title.
The 22-year-old controlled the fight with his superior ring skills and ruthlessly finished off the badly bloodied McCullough in the eighth round.
In a lively opening session, Lowe quickly gained the respect of McCullough by sinking hurtful shots below the belt line.
McCullough was struggling to settle and was caught by swift combinations from Lowe in the second, but the Belfast man did land a decent right before the end of the third.
Back came the Morecambe man in the fourth as he stabbed out stiff jabs and then countered McCullough with crisp right hooks.
McCullough had more cause for concern in the fifth when a clash of heads left him with a gaping cut above the left eye.
As blood poured from his opponent's eye, Lowe tried to worsen his plight with accurate punches and a determined assault forced McCullough's corner to intervene in the eighth.
McCullough plodded wearily into a succession of sharp shots and Lowe continued to unload hurtful hooks until the towel was thrown in.
Lowe, who celebrated with his cousin Tyson Fury, told Sky Sports: "It means so much to me. I've worked since a baby as an amateur.
"That's my world title and whatever else I do in my career, I'll always have this."
On a busy bill in Manchester, Ryan Burnett floored Anthony Settoul on the way to a unanimous decision win.
The highly-rated bantamweight dropped the Frenchman in the fifth round with a shuddering right, but Settoul stubbornly stood firm until the final bell.
Super-lightweight Josh Taylor made short work of Lyes Chaibi as he halted the Frenchman with a fierce flurry of punches in the second round.
