Dave Allen succumbed to Filip Hrgovic in just three rounds at the Eco-Power Stadium in Doncaster.
It was a heartbreaking loss for Allen in his hometown, as he was hammered to a stoppage defeat, with his corner pulling him out of a one-sided contest in the third round.
Hrgovic dominated from the beginning, smashing long straight shots into Allen. He measured out the distance and hit in his hard right cross, shots that caught Allen flush, early on, multiple times.
The Briton tried looping his right over the top but misjudged the punch, seeing it fall short. He couldn’t catch or dissuade the Croatian.
Hrgovic powered into him and drove Allen into the ropes. Soon Allen became a standing target and Hrgovic teed off on him.
In the second round Allen was pulling his gloves up to block punches. But by the third round Hrgovic was launching blows into him.
With the referee taking a close, anxious look, Allen’s corner, Jamie Moore and Nigel Travis, pulled him out in the third round.
Allen went down in ultimately a tame defeat.
Allen supported his training team’s call. “If Jamie and Nige say enough’s enough, enough’s enough,” he said. “Thank you for looking after me.
“If Jamie and Nigel think it’s the right choice, it’s the right choice.”
Well supported, Allen doesn’t want to bring his career to a close just yet.
“A few more fights,” he said, addressing the crowd. “Thank you everyone, I can’t believe it.
“I just got absolutely hammered and everyone stayed to the end.”
He added: “I’m a good fighter but I’m not a great fighter. But these people have given me the career of a world champion.
“No excuses, I tried my heart out. Filip Hrgovic – too good for me.”
Gomez crushes McGregor
On the undercard, Michael Gomez Jr began full of ferocity, overeager he butted his head into Lee McGregor before the first bell had even sounded.
McGregor, a more natural featherweight, had moved up to lightweight but still showed some of his quality in the first round. But soon Gomez was overwhelming him with his size and workrate.
Michael Gomez Jr tears into Lee McGregor
Gomez Jr dropped McGregor in the fourth round and poured in punches in the next round. Stubborn, McGregor got through but Gomez unleashed on him at the start of the sixth too.
McGregor was badly cut over the left eye, his right eye had swollen too. Eventually his corner hurled in the towel to pull him out before the close of the sixth round.
Undefeated British lightweight champion Louie O’Doherty added the Commonwealth title to his collection when he dominated Ahmed Hatim to take a unanimous decision win.
O’Doherty won with scores of 119-109 and 118-110 twice as he handed Hatim a first defeat.
Watch Chris Billam-Smith vs Ryan Rozicki live on Sky Sports on June 6
