Enzo Maccarinelli in Civic title outrage

Controversy is still being felt in the boxing world today after Shane McPhilbin had the British title ripped from him by Enzo Maccarinelli at Wolverhampton Civic Hall.

McPhilbin, a 150-1 outsider to win in the first round last night, looked to have bucked that trend when a right hand set up a thumping left hook, leaving Maccarinelli head first on the bottom rope.

Maccarinelli answered the count on unsteady legs and even returned to the canvas on bended knee, but was cleared to continue.

But, before they could re-engage in combat, timekeeper Martin Fallon called for the bell to end the first round - with 47 SECONDS of the session left to run.

The British Boxing Board of Control today launched a full investigation into exactly how it happened, event steward David Roden declaring "we can't walk away from what has happened here."

The rest of the fight continued as scheduled but Maccarinelli again visited the canvas in the third round, left on the seat of his shorts after a right hook from the cruiserweight champion.

Maccarinelli scored his own knockdown when he hit McPhilbin with a left hook that eventually put him down, by response, in the 10th round.

And, judging the whole fight, he was the worthy winner round to round taking decisions of 115-111, 116-111 and 115-110 from the judges.

But no-one will ever know if the ex-WBO world and European title holder would have survived the onslaught if the first round had gone the right distance, on route to him lifting the British crown.

In the other title fight on the night, power beat skill and Dudley's Jason Welborn is still the Midlands welterweight champion after a career-best fifth round stoppage over Coventry's James Flinn.

Flinn relied on the boxing skills that had took him to Wales international honours and a national ABA senior semi-final as an amateur, but Welborn's strength told when the going got tough at the last.

A right hand from Welborn reduced to Flinn to his knees although the under-pressure fighter managed to dodge the ensuing onslaught before getting caught again with the same shot.

It was a blow the former English title challenger couldn't recover from and his hopes of making it big lie in tatters today, after the decisive moment two minutes and 13 seconds into round five.

Fighters put it all on the line all night long as there were also stoppage wins for Walsall's Martin Gethin, Birmingham's Thomas Costello, Dudley's Dean Anderson and Stourbridge's Steven Pearce.

Walsall's Christopher Keane, Stafford's Grant Cunningham, Brierley Hill's Kyle Spencer and Halesowen's Zak the Ripper – real name Saquib Amir – all scored points wins.

Gethin, taking in his third fight and his second this month since returning in November from 19 months out with a back injury, took out Hungarian visitor Csaba Torma in two rounds.

The two-time English lightweight champion dropped his opponent with a left hook to the body and bloodied his nose before the finish, one minute and 59 seconds into round two.

Costello looked great in finishing his Slovakian opponent, Lubomir Wejs, in the first round after just two minutes and 10 seconds.

The Brummie light middleweight left Wejs on his knee crumpled in pain after putting all of his force into a left hook to the ribcage and repeated the trick for the finish.

Anderson, again, worked to the body to score a stoppage in his return to the ring after a 15-month break against fellow lightweight 'Rockin' Robin Deakin, exactly two minutes into the second round.

Deakin had answered with little in return and his hesitance to fight back was a factor in the end of the fight as, despite taking a sharp right hand to the sternum, he looked fit to continue.

Pearce took his first inside the distance win in just his second professional fight and had already put Matt Seawright flat on his face before he survived for the finish, 43 seconds into round three.

Another left hook from Pearce left Seawright, cut from the right eye, reeling long enough to receive another barrage that brought to an end to the contest – in the most bizarre of fashions.

Referee Gareth Morris went to step in and stop the fight and slipped on the canvas, shooting straight back up to wave the light welterweight fight off.

Keane, a senior ABA national amateur champion in 2009, was in for six rounds with Lithuania's Remigjius Ziausys, a game opponent who went the distance with Dereck Chisora last November.

There was 15 months off ring rust for Keane but the cruiserweight picked up the pace with an opponent that came forward, utilising his jab and range to win for a points shut-out by 60-54.

Cunningham went in with the ever-game Ryan Clark, taking in his 59th fight at just 22, in a toe-to-toe battle for four rounds at middleweight but the Stafford fighter beat him to many of the punches.

The man from Moss Pit was again handed every session for a perfect points win, by 40-36.

Spencer, like stable-mate Pearce, took the same points decision but was decisive in his work to see off Rick Boulter, left heavily marked to the eyes in their bruising four-round bout at welterweight.

In the last bout of the evening, Halesowen's Zak the Ripper – real name Saquib Amir – went in with an able foe in just his third professional fight against Walsall's erstwhile veteran Delroy Spencer.

The two featherweights ran the ropes and Spencer – competing in his 151st pro contest at age 43 – gave it a go but the Ripper ran out the points winner, by 39-37.

By Craig Birch