Saturday 15 October 2016 21:26, UK
Sean Dodd won a split decision points victory over Belgian Francesco Patera on Saturday to successfully defend his WBC international lightweight title in Liverpool.
Local favourite 'Masher' (12-2-1-KO2) was pushed all the way as he made the first defence of the title he won by defeating Italian Pasquale Di Silvio last May.
His 23-year-old opponent Patera came into the fight boasting an impressive record with just one career defeat, having taken Luke Campbell conqueror Yvan Mendy the distance.
Dodd though, at 32, just edged out the Belgian and continues his rise through the rankings following the disappointment of two controversial fights with British champion Scott Cardle.
On arrival, 'Masher' once again raised the noise levels in the Echo Arena considerably, but it was Patera who started the contest the better, marching forward and landing repeated left hands.
Dodd seemed to struggle with his younger challenger's high work rate and quick movement and soon found himself having to tuck up tightly after being wobbled in the second round.
Patera's style seemed all wrong for the home fighter as Dodd failed to find much joy with his normally effective jab and it was quickly becoming a hard night's work.
From the fourth onwards, Dodd remained resilient and grew into the fight though, often smothering his determined opponent on the ropes and landing short hooks in the inside.
The pendulum of the fight continued to swing and Patera remained light on his feet in the mid rounds in producing the cleaner work.
But what is becoming a familiar sight is Dodd finding an extra gear late on and he gave it his all in the final two rounds as he threw a succession of shots, including some good hooks to the body, which proved crucial in clinching the victory.
Two judges gave Dodd the fight with scores of 96-94, while one judge awarded Patera the contest with a 96-95 scorecard.
Speaking to Sky Sports after the fight, Dodd said: "I knew Patera was going to be sharp so we wanted to see what he could do for a couple of rounds before we stepped it up.
"I had to work hard to get the decision, so I'm over the moon to come out on top and it means the world to me.
"He was big and strong in there so I was a bit cautious but sometimes you just have to take the risk, get in there, take a shot and just work hard for it."
Earlier in the night, Rocky Fielding continued to rebuild having suffered his first career loss against Callum Smith in April.
The super middleweight stopped Istvan Zeller in the second round having had his outclassed Hungarian opponent down in the first following a barrage of left hooks.
Gerard Carroll moved to a 3-0 with a points victory, while Paul Economides also scored a decision win in his contest with Elvis Guillen.
Cruiserweight Craig Glover also scored a dominant points victory to maintain his unbeaten start to his pro career.
