Sunday 23 April 2017 00:19, UK
Sean 'Masher' Dodd survived an early scare to beat Lee Appleyard and win the vacant Commonwealth lightweight title at the Echo Arena.
The Birkenhead fighter was badly rocked with a huge right hand in the opening round which momentarily staggered him to the ropes as he struggled to come to terms with the size and reach advantage of his opponent.
Appleyard continued to pile the pressure on in the next couple of rounds, connecting with a right hand in the second and just missing with another power shot in the third to put the early rounds in the bank.
Dodd started to establish his jab from the fourth round on though before successfully landing to Appleyard's body in the fifth and a ferocious left hook, right-hand combination in the seventh to swing the pendulum of the fight his way.
Appleyard began to load up with big shots at the back end of the fight but failed to repeat his early successes as Dodd connected with two more overhand rights in the eighth and three sharp hooks in the 11th to pull away and win via unanimous decision 117-113 116-112 and 117-112.
Tom Farrell beat Tommy Carus over 10 rounds to remain unbeaten in his 12th professional bout.
The fight started cautiously with neither man able to make an impression on their opponent in the first couple of rounds before 'Fazza' opened up a cut on Carus' eye in the third and landed a big left hook in the fourth.
Carus came back into the fight in the middle rounds, throwing the crisper shots in the fifth and a flurry of punches in the sixth to take both sessions in what was turning out to be an intriguing contest.
Farrell though reinstated his command at the back end of the fight, connecting with hurtful right hands in the eighth and ninth to take the victory on the cards 97-95.
Liverpool's Ryan Mulcahy extended his unblemished record to eight after outpointing Andy Keates 59-55.
Steve Brogan and Henry Janes drew for the second time in as many fights after the fight ended 59-59.
Gerard Carroll remained unbeaten after outpointing Josh Throne 39-37 in the opening bout of the night.
