Tommy McCarthy secures WBC international cruiserweight title

Tommy McCarthy bagged the biggest win of his career with a superb victory over Fabio Turchi in northern Italy.

McCarthy, who was stopped in four rounds by Richard Riakporhe in March, got his career firmly back on track by handing Turchi his first defeat to claim the WBC international cruiserweight title via a split decision after a terrific tear-up in Trento.

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The home fighter kept McCarthy on the back foot in a cagey opening round and tried to up the pressure in the second but was caught by a short right hand.

McCarthy ventured forward in the fourth and began to let his hands go after finding his range against the Italian southpaw.

A scrappy fifth saw Turchi receive a ticking off from the referee and the pair traded leather in the sixth before an accidental clash of heads in the seventh opened a cut on the left cheekbone of the champion.

The Belfast boxer grew in confidence in the eighth as the fighter from Florence began to tire, and after an even ninth, the scores confirmed the contest was on a knife-edge.

Turchi was struggling to see through his swollen left eye during the 10th and the referee twice called for the opinion of the ringside doctor.

'The Stone Crusher' came out for the penultimate round swinging wildly and blindly in a bid to secure a stoppage victory but McCarthy soaked up the pressure.

The exhausted pair traded shots in a toe-to-toe final round - and after an anxious wait - McCarthy claimed the win via scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 112-116.

Francesco Grandelli secured a thrilling split-decision over Reece Bellotti to win the vacant WBC international silver featherweight title.

Grandelli used his superior movement to stay out of trouble and landed a variety of punches from all angles to claim victory via scores of 96-95 and 96-94 with one judge awarding Bellotti 96-95.

Watford fighter Bellotti enjoyed success in the early rounds but Grandelli turned on the style in the fourth, switching stances and stringing together combinations.

Bellotti continued to march forward and targeted the body in a bid to slow down Grandelli as the fight wore on, but the Italian kept on his toes and managed to avoid the heavier shots.

To the disbelief of the crowd, Bellotti was leading by a couple of points when the scores were announced ahead of the ninth round, Grandelli responded by unleashing a barrage of blows.

The pair continued to trade in a frantic final round but Grandelli forced Bellotti on to the back foot and the Turin fighter's busier work-rate turned the scorecards into his favour.

Matteo Signani defeated Gevorg Khatchikian to win the vacant EBU European middleweight title at the age of 40.

The Italian claimed the title on home soil in his third attempt after securing a narrow split decision over his 31-year-old rival.