Derry Mathews has won the British lightweight title for a second time after edging out Martin Gethin in Liverpool.
The 30-year-old, who had been coming off the back of a loss to Stephen Ormond for the European belt, had the better of the opening rounds against the champion but the Merseyside fighter was having to contend with a damaged nose.
Gethin improved during the second half of the encounter and although Mathews continued to have success against the Walsall man, the better work was coming from the titlist.
At the end of the 12 rounds, two judges scored the bout 117-113 and 116-112 in favour of Mathews, while the other judge had it 115-114 in Gethin's favour.
Mathews will defend his title for the first time against Terry Flanagan, who extended his unbeaten record to 24 fights against Yordan Vasilev on the undercard at the Olympia.
Darren Plant
