Ricky Boylan lost his second successive English light-welterweight title fight when he dropped a unanimous decision to Tommy Martin at the O2 Arena last night.
The Carshalton fighter slipped to 12-2 after being unable to nullify the speed and movement of 20-year-old Martin who is now stands undefeated in 11 fights.
The loss comes two months after Boylan was outpointed by Tyler Goodjohn, who was stopped by John Wayne Hibbert on the same bill last night.
The 26-year-old now faces important decisions over the future of his career, though a rematch with Goodjohn may be pursued after both their losses last night.
Despite an obvious advantage in size and strength, Boylan could not impose himself on the nimble Martin who peppered him with sharp shots.
Martin’s shots came in numbers but were unable to leave their mark on Boylan who was content to take several to land one of his own.
Boylan eventually found success in the middle rounds and was able to initiate a game plan of pressure and body shots, with Martin showing signs of fading.
The success was short lived as Martin once again found his composure and rallied back in the second half of the fight to convince all three judges to give him the nod.
Earlier in the night Croydon flyweight Charlie Edwards began his campaign in the paid ranks with a bang as he stopped Craig Derbyshire in the fourth and final round.
The Croydon fighter displayed the boxing skill that saw him win a European bronze medal and two national titles as an amateur before the impressive finish in the fourth.
Edwards will next be out in March in what will be the second stage of a busy 2015 for the 21 year old.
In the main event lightweight Kevin Mitchell put on a career-best performance to stop Daniel Estrada in the eighth round and set up a world title fight with Jorge Linares.
Image courtesy of iFL TV via YouTube, with thanks
