Josh Wale retained his British bantamweight title for a second time with ninth-round stoppage, live on FreeSports TV
Josh Wale (26-9-2, 13 KOs) came one step closer to securing the coveted Lonsdale belt outright by successfully defending his British bantamweight title for a second time with a ninth-round stoppage of Bobby Jenkinson (11-4-1, 2 KOs) at the Ponds Forge Arena in Sheffield on February 2.
"The Outlaw" decked Jenkinson with a sharp right hand in the ninth segment to signal the beginning of the end for Lincoln's "Jenko", on the Dennis Hobson promoted show titled 'Men of Steel'.
The 25-year-old challenger bravely rose to his feet but a subsequent barrage of blows from the 29-year-old champion forced referee Michael Alexander to rightly call a halt to the action.
The younger Jenkinson started brightly but the experienced Wale, who first debuted way back in 2006, showed his superior knowledge and ability as they fight grew older. The defending champion was smarter, busier and more accurate, causing the former Commonwealth champion's work rate to wane as the pressure piled on.
Jenkinson received a cut in the seventh and looked all but finished by the eighth-round. The stoppage in the ninth was expected by most, especially the official, who brought matters to a close at the right time.
One more successful defence could see Wale winning the prestigious Lonsdale belt outright, a feat acheived only by a select few, such as Henry Cooper, Alan Minter, Lennox Lewis and more recently Carl Froch, Kell Brook, and Billy Joe Saunders.
The BBBofC have already ordered the champion to make his third defence to Scottish Area bantamweight titlist Ukashir Farooq (8-0 2KOs) next.
Underdog Brad Watson (11-2), who hadn’t won a fight in over three years and been inactive for the past year, prevailed over the strong favourite, Loua Nassa (10-1), to bag the vacant English super-flyweight title.
The Guernsey "Glamour Boy" dug deep to get the better of Sheffield's Nassa, stopping the unbeaten prospect in the final round of their 10-round English championship contest.
It was a game of two halves, with Nassa in full control for five rounds until a big right-hand knockdown in the sixth segment turned the tables to the travelling fighter's advantage.
The 27-year-old from the Channel Islands hurt his opponent again in the seventh, but allowed the hometown boy to recover and return back to the driving seat.
But then, another accurate right hand in the final round of the fight rocked Nassa reeling into the ropes and ruled as a knockdown.
With minutes remaining, Watson seized his moment and followed up aggressively sensing the finish was available decked his opponent more convincingly for a second time in the last round.
Referee Shaun Messer allowed the Sheffield fighter to get back on his feet but correctly waved the fight off with just less than two minues of the championship contest remaining.