Bob Ajisafe wins MaxiNutrition tournament
Bob Ajisafe was crowned MaxiNutrition Knockout champion after late stand-in Matty Clarkson was withdrawn after four rounds of the final.
Leeds boxer Ajisafe had been due to meet Travis Dickinson in the light-heavyweight showdown at Glow, Bluewater, only for his intended opponent to pull out with an injury in the final week before the fight.
Clarkson had lost to Dickinson in the semi-finals of the eight-man tournament, so was therefore offered the opportunity at short notice.
Having already started his preparations for a return to the ring in December, the man from Preston seized the chance.
He started brightly too, catching Ajisafe occasionally in the opening couple of rounds before understandably tiring. Ajisafe – who lost in his bid to win the Commonwealth belt from Tony Bellew back in 2010, one of just two defeats on his professional record – began to pick off his rival with a sharp jab as, after an unusually aggressive start, he worked cleverly on the counter.
The decision was taken by Clarkson's corner to pull their man out before the start of the fifth, giving Ajisafe a sixth successive win and also the trophy.
Also on the same card, Lenny Daws claimed the vacant European Boxing Union light-welterweight title when the referee deemed opponent Chaquib Fadli was in no fit state to continue in the 10th round.
The Frenchman was not impressed by the decision, though he had twice had points deducted in a lively contest for using his head. Daws was left with a nasty cut above his left eye after one such clash in the eighth.