Linus Udofia defended his English middleweight title for the first time with a stoppage victory over John Harding jr in the 9th round. Both men were given an opportunity to showcase their talent on a wider platform on Saturday night on sky sports, and the early exchanges gave the impression we were in for a thrilling contest.

The early rounds saw Udofia as the busier man, however it seemed Harding jr was finding his range slightly better and the first round seemed an intriguing match up, Udofia ended the first with a flurry which saw Harding on the receiving end of some solid shots.

As the battle continued both men had their moments and Harding was making it very awkward for Udofia to show off some of his superior boxing finesse. Despite this awkward approach Udofia continued to land combinations and show moments of class. As it got into the later stages of the fight Udofia found his range better and improved some shot selection as he slowly but surely took control of the fight.

The fight progressed and it became visible that Harding was suffering from fatigue, and it just felt like his shot at the national title was slipping out of reach yet again. Udofia still growing into the fight and picking up momentum both on the scorecards and in the fight landed a solid right hand to drop Harding jr to the canvas.

Harding rose to his feet but the contest was waved off, seeing Udofia secure his 16th professional victory and complete his maiden defence of the English title in style.