Rhodes rolls back the years

Woolcombe on his way out

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Former 'Spice Boy' Ryan Rhodes turned back the clock to claim the British light-middleweight title with a stunning knockout victory over Gary Woolcombe.

Sheffield's Rhodes first won the title back in 1996 and looked better than ever to claim the title from an opponent six years his junior who was defending the title for the first time.

Woolcombe found it difficult to get to grips with the awkward southpaw from the outset, Rhodes landing the cleaner, heavier punches from all sorts of angles.

The more orthodox champion set the tempo but was rocked in the fifth round, Rhodes opening a cut above the right eye.

The pace started to slacken and that seemed to suit the 31-year-old challenger, who began landing with increasing regularity and dropped the tiring Woolcombe in the sixth.

The end looked to be coming in the seventh as Rhodes piled on the pressure, with Woolcombe bewildered by some hurtful left hands and straight rights.

The champion showed great heart but was way behind on the cards when Rhodes connected with a right to the temple early in the ninth, Woolcombe crashing to the canvas with referee Micky Vann quickly calling for assistance.

The 25-year-old was down for several minutes before getting to his feet, much to the relief of the partisan York Hall crowd.

"What a tough kid - I expected myself to win but I didn't expect it to be that tough," Rhodes told Sky Sports. "Winning titles brings out the best in these kids and it certainly did tonight.

"I'm more experienced, my style is better and I'm a more complete fighter (than in '96). I have a lot of people to thank for this."

On the undercard 'Big' John McDermott improved to 25-3 when he stopped Pele Reid in the second round to claim the vacant English heavyweight title.

The Basildon bomber caught veteran Reid with a sweet upper cut and a flurry of punches later the fight was called off.