Stairfoot boxer Matthew 'Buster' Mallin went down fighting in his failed bid to win the English light-middleweight title.
Mallin, 23, was put down by sharp combinations in the third and fifth rounds by reigning champion Navid Mansouri at iceSheffield on Friday. The second knockdown was decisive with both the referee Steve Gray and Mallin's corner considering the fight finished.
Mallin was caught alarmingly often and cleanly but stood up to the shots and had success with return punches of his own. After being put down in the third round, he looked at trainer Mick Wale and was urged to continue due to him still being in with a chance of winning.
Mick said: "I thought Buster had won the fourth round and it seemed as though Nav was having a round off in the fifth until the stoppage. It was a very disappointing night for us and Matthew was inconsolable afterwards. He got nailed with a left hook in the fifth and, even if he had survived the knockdown, we would have been pulling him out. He was just getting hit too easily but he showed tremendous heart. I think he found out how hard it is at proper title level."
