Tony Bellew remained on course for a world title showdown with Nathan Cleverly after his points win over Ovill McKenzie.
Commonwealth champion secures British title
Tony Bellew remained on course for a world title showdown with Nathan Cleverly despite failing to provide the expected fireworks in his unanimous points win over Ovill McKenzie.
Bellew had to climb off the canvas twice before stopping McKenzie in the eighth round of their initial meeting last December, but this time eased to victory by margins of 118-111 118-111 and 119-110 to add the vacant British light-heavyweight title to his Commonwealth belt.
And despite the fight failing to ignite, Bellew believes he showed why he now deserves a shot at WBO champion Cleverly, who was watching at ringside.
"I told you - for the first time in my life I had to stick to a gameplan," Bellew told Sky Sports HD1.
"I've got Mark and Mick in the corner. They told me, don't trade with him. His hope is to bang one big punch with the right hand.
"Listen, I can box - you've seen it tonight. I know what I can do. He's a dangerous, dangerous puncher. I knew that. I've got to thank my team for whipping me into fantastic shape.
"Listen it's a risky business. What to do want me to go in there and provide what I done last time. I'm in this game for the long run. There'll be exciting fights down the line.
Dangerous
"Get me the fella from the valleys and I'll provide excitement. I'll leave him asleep. You bring him on and we'll get excitement. He can't punch like him. Ovill McKenzie is a dangerous puncher. His record is a big lie. The guy can punch.
"I've gone in there tonight. No-one knows I can box and dominate. I stuck to a gameplan, 12 rounds on a jab. I'm fit, I'm strong and I didn't load up once. I didn't throw one clean power shot tonight and I dominated. It was easy."
Bellew had pledged to return to the fundamentals he learned in the amateur ranks, and belied his brawler reputation to remain largely elusive throughout, although McKenzie made his presence felt with a pair of concussive rights in the latter.
Action remained at a premium, but Bellew was landing the cleaner shots and a right hook-double jab combination off the ropes in round five marked his most eye catching work.
McKenzie responded in the next session with a winging right hook that appeared to momentarily have Bellew troubled in the neutral corner, but the unbeaten champion came back, firing a right cross nicely off the jab and bringing the uppercut into play.
The pensive nature of the bout was gradually giving way to more action and Bellew found consistent success with the overhand right in round eight.
Nevertheless, the Evertonian remained content to keep McKenzie at bay behind his considerably sharper jab.
A left uppercut rattled the challenger's ribs in round 10 and Bellew capitalised to send home a telling right over the top.
McKenzie rallied in the penultimate three minutes, but Bellew's chin withstood a pair of chopping right hooks and, despite shipping a painful low blow, the champion returned to wobble his foe with a crisp left in the 12th.
