An eighth round knockout ended Eric Donovan's hopes of winning the IBF Intercontinental title as Zelfa Barrett came out on top in their Fight Camp bout.
The Athy, Co Kildare native had come into the fight with an undefeated 12-0 record and knew victory in Brentwood would potentially open up world title shot opportunities.
Facing him was a Manchester-born fighter who had won 23 of his 24 fights before the opening bell.
Donovan had shaded the early rounds in a tight and initially cagey contest with little between both men.
Donovan v Barrett: As it happened
With 35-year-old Donovan's southpaw stance matching up well against Barrett's orthodox stance, it was the Irishman who landed more shots and combinations for the first six rounds in an impressive start.
But with his English opponent raising the tempo and coming forward more aggressively from the sixth round onwards, the momentum shifted irretrievably in the seventh.
Barrett knocked Donovan down with a powerful left hook, before putting him down again in the final seconds of the round.
With Donovan looking to stay in the fight, Barrett ended the contest with another powerful left hook which sent the Kildare man onto his back on the canvas, before referee Howard Foster called a halt to proceedings.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the fight, promoter Eddie Hearn paid tribute to Donovan.
"Eric Donovan, we've said it all week, what a lovely, lovely man. He's devastated. He gave everything," he said.
On Barrett's knockout, Hearn added that it was an "unbelievable finish, one of the knockouts of the year ".
