Philip Sutcliffe Jr was left disappointed after the referee stepped in to stop his IBF European super-lightweight title fight against Josh Leather in Leeds.
The Dubliner had hoped to make a big jump in the rankings by picking up a victory against the unbeaten Englishman, but official Howard Foster called the bout to a halt after Leather landed some big blows in the sixth round.
The fight has begun at a frantic pace as Sutcliffe looked to push the early pace, but Leather quickly settled into the fight and he had Sutcliffe in a spot of trouble with a solid left in the third round.
Neither could maintain that early pace and things slowed down before the pair began to trade shots to end the fifth.
Leather seized the momentum in round six, though, and after seeing Sutcliffe take a heavy combination, Foster controversially moved in to end the fight.
Sutcliffe was understandably disappointed to see his challenge end as it did but acknowledged that Leather had been the better fighter to that point.
"He was the better man on the night and I'll always hold my hands up to the better man," Sutcliffe said.
"Josh really performed tonight but I really, really underperformed. I'd had a good camp.
"I think the fight was called a little early and fair enough I was caught once or twice, but it never should have been stopped."
