Ulster's Brian Magee kept his steady rise in the professional ranks on track, when he claimed the IBO intercontinental super middleweight title with a unanimous points victory over Neil Linford in the Bushfield Leisure Centre, Peterborough last night. But Magee revealed that he had to go through the pain barrier in order to claim his first professional title, chalking up a dozen wins in the process.
Magee insisted: "I think I broke my hand in the second round and I was conscious of that from then on, but I still fought a good fight and knew I had won at the final bell. Hopefully this will be the first title of many. I want to improve with every fight and I think I'm doing that."
Magee dominated for the greater part of the action-packed 12 rounds and deserved the unanimous verdict from the three judges, who delivered scores of 117-112, 116-114 and 118-111.
Filed by Shane Murray
