Frankie Gavin beats Junior Witter to claim British welterweight title

The bout between two fighters at opposite ends of their careers was far from a classic in Bethnal Green, with the experienced Witter having the better of things in the opening rounds.

However, once Gavin got to grips with his rival's switch-hitting style he began to grow into the contest, despite suffering a nasty cut on the bridge of his nose from an accidental clash of heads.

'The Hitter' was down in the sixth, albeit only after swinging himself off his feet trying to land a punch from distance, with the champion's biggest issues actually coming with the referee.

The Bradford-born boxer was warned by Marcus McDonnell for posturing with his hands behind his back in the ninth and then deducted a point in the next for holding on.

Gavin, who himself was given a telling off for punching his rival on the back of the head, landed a good left in the seventh as he gained control in the middle rounds.

In the end he could afford to give away the last and still win by a landslide, getting the nod 119-109, 117-110 and 117-112 from the three judges at ringside.

Victory means the 27-year-old southpaw from Birmingham now has his hands on the Lonsdale belt after just 14 professional fights.

"I'm over the moon. Last year I didn't know where my career was going, I didn't even know if I'd be in the ring again," Gavin said.

"Now I'm British champion and the world's my oyster. Believe me, I'm only going to get better.

"I had a few confidence problems last year when I had some personal problems.

"No-one looks good against Witter, but I still beat him comfortably. I felt really strong in the second half of the fight. I'm fit, a different animal to what I used to be.

"No more setbacks now. I'm 27 and will only get better. My next step is to defend the title or European."