Ireland's TJ Doheny suffered a tenth-round TKO in his WBA featherweight title fight with Nick Ball in Liverpool.
After a fiery build-up, where the two fighters traded barbs and Doheny just about made weight, having been given an hour to lose an ounce on Friday, expectations were high in front of the defending champion's home crowd.
The 38-year-old former super-bantamweight belt holder started the fight well, disrupting Ball's rhythm and landing freely with body-shots, rattling the defending champion, who should have had a point deducted late on in the opening round when he kicked his opponent while they were in the clinch.
There was real needle between the two fighters and the referee warned them to keep things clean as they came out for the second but, having let Doheny dictate the opening round, Ball began to settle into the fight and did enough to take the second and third round.
Doheny's best spell came in the fourth and fifth rounds when he upped his work rate and unsettled Ball while fighting on the counter, forcing the champion to fight at his pace, but the Portlaoise man never really had the power to rock Ball, 10 years his younger.
The sixth round was where the fight started to get away from Doheny, who was staggered with two left-right combinations as his face started to wear the damage of the bout, with his right eye beginning to close.
Doheny was on the canvas at one point in the sixth, having being pushed by Ball, who was warned by the referee that he'd lose a point were it to happen again.
Ball sensed that the fight were his to take from the seventh onwards and with Doheny tiring, he ramped up the pressure on the Irishman, who was gulping down air and struggling with that swollen right eye.
Doheny looked a beaten docket from that point, but he gamely fought on, refusing to give in and while he was still throwing mean-looking body shots, they weren't landing as Ball turned on the style and started to pile on the pressure.
There was a brief moment of hope for Doheny in the ninth when Ball was deducted a point for throwing Doheny to the ground for the second time but that was as good as things got for the challenger.
There was a real question as to whether Doheny would emerge for the tenth round and his corner were in deep conversation before he got to his feet again, showing great heart and determination.
Ball knew the fight was his by now and he went in search of a stoppage, pilling the pressure on Doheny, who could only offer token resistance by that stage.
Doheny hung on for the end of the tenth but that was as far as he went, and it seemed that combination of the referee and Doheny's corner decided that the fight was done.
Ball remains unbeaten in his 21-fight professional career and Doheny (26-6) will surely be considering whether to fight on.
