At the Manchester Arena last night, on the Joshua v Molina under-card, Hosea Burton defended his British light-heavyweight title against Frank Buglioni.
The fight was to go on to become one of the best on the promotion.
Ahead of the bout Burton and Buglioni had exchanged insults but without crossing the line and clearly there was no love lost between the pair.
Burton started the fight the better of the two boxers, the champion was catching Buglioni with the cleaner and heavier punches.
However, as the fight wore on Buglioni started to be the busier of the two boxers although there was the suspicion that Burton was still taking the rounds with his more accurate work.
Buglioni was also hampered by some facial damage with blood running into his eye and streaming down his face.
As the fight entered the final two rounds it really exploded into life. Still pushing forward Buglioni caught Burton with a peach of a punch and the champion hit the canvas. Burton climbed to his feet and was saved by the bell with Buglioni looking to press home his advantage.
The start of the final round saw Burton exert his authority once again but Buglioni refused to accept defeat and pressed forward again and a right hand to the head of the champion saw Burton drop to the canvas again. Gamely getting to his feet, Burton was caught by some more heavy shots from Buglioni and the referee was forced to step in and stop the fight.
Buglioni may, in the majority of the rounds, not have landed the cleaner shots but his constant pressure had taken its toll on the champion and Buglioni got his reward as he lifted the British light-heavyweight title.
Buglioni Stops Burton in Round 12
