Saturday 29 March 2014 23:20, UK
Frankie Gavin successfully defended his Commonwealth welterweight title with a points victory over Sacky Shikukutu in Newcastle.
The Birmingham southpaw was knocked down for the first time in his professional career but came through to clinch a wide unanimous decision.
After Gavin had dictated the opening round Shikukutu produced a shock when he sent Gavin to the canvas with a short left hand in the second.
The Namibian landed some decent shots in round three as well but by the fourth stanza Gavin had seized control again and did not relinquish it thereafter.
Gavin, who claimed the flash knockdown was actually a slip after the fight, picked his shots well throughout the rest of the contest and did not suffer any further setbacks .
At the end of the 12 rounds Gavin was favoured by 117-111 and 118-109 twice on the three judges’ scorecards to record a win which improves his record to 19-0.
Elsewhere on the card, Jon-Lewis Dickinson won the Lonsdale belt outright after a 10th round stoppage victory against Neil Dawson.
The British cruiserweight champion, fighting in his home city, broke down his opponent over the course of the bout in an impressive display.
Dickinson landed a number of heavy shots in round 10, with Dawson taking a count after being held up by the ropes, after which the referee deciding to wave off the contest.
