Baby blues for Thomas Costello at the Civic

'The Natural' came into the ring with his girlfriend Samantha ready to go into labour at any minute and she gave birth to their son, Dylan, yesterday.

Before that, Birmingham's Costello was stopped on his feet by Bristol's Danny Butler in the 10^th and last round of the Civic's 70^th anniversary show's main event on Saturday night.

Butler seized the vacant middleweight strap after bossing much of the fight with Costello game but flat-footed, which saw him take numerous punches that rocked his head back.

His willingness to follow Butler around without using the jab left him wide open, with his opponent up on his toes and jumping in and out to attack after teeing up shots that regularly landed.

The fight was nearly over when Costello was shook by a super-stiff right hook in the eighth round and his defences scrambled, shipping another load of punches before somehow battling back.

Referee Howard Foster considered stepping in then and didn't but felt compelled to act in the 10th after another right hook connected as Costello – who was dazed but upright – protested.

Costello couldn't have stemmed the tide inside the distance by then. Judge Shaun Messer had Butler winning by 90-81, while Michael Alexander and Robert Chalmers did the same, by 89-83.

On the under-card, Tipton's Ricky Summers was back in action after a nine-month absence and added a second points win to his record as a professional.

The unbeaten light heavyweight, 25, defeated Leamington Spa's John Mason, who stayed away from his opponent and swung wildly when pressed with varying level of success.

Summers got his hands up, his guards tight and stuck out his jab, which in itself was enough to win the fight, but ring-time was needed after the frustrating inactivity of the last year.

Cannock's Dave Egan promised "something special" before he had even thrown a punch with his ring entrance and delivered in style.

'Handsome Dave' emerged with a showgirl on each arm with the Tom Jones' tribute singer from the evening's cabaret signing 'Delilah,' which certainly got the attention of the Civic crowd.

In the ring, the former Chasetown footballer was in with rugged 'Gypsy Boy' Billy Smith, who was billed as from Worcester, a week after the veteran had been involved in his 150th pro fight.

The 29-year-old light welterweight had been told not to brawl with Smith, who can trade with the best of them, and did what was asked of him, sticking to his boxing without going toe-to-toe.

When Egan got the chance and stepped up the pace in the fourth and last round, he trapped Smith in the ropes and kept his head moving as he peppered his opponent with body shots.

But Smith lasted the distance as Egan made it 5-0 as a professional with a 40-36 shut-out points win. He next boxes at Walsall Town Hall on Friday April 26.

Another fighter to get the 'Vegas' treatment was the returning Lance Brooks, who was back at the Civic five days shy of three years since he made his pro debut at the same venue.

Brooks stole some of Egan's thunder by emerging the fight before with a show girl on each arm with the other half of the cabaret, a Robbie Williams tribute, singing 'Let Me Entertain You.'

The Coseley-based traveller was then faced with veteran Matt Seawright and dictated the pace as he tracked down his retreating foe, who ducked low in and out swinging his head around.

The light welterweight nearly ended the contest early after clubbing Seawright with a right hook to the head that forced him to take a knee. He answered the count and regained his senses in time.

In the end, Brooks settled for a resounding 40-35 points win, taking the knockdown into account.

Bloxwich's Luke Paddock opened the show against the tough man from Trowbridge, Dan Carr, as his 'School of Hard Knocks' education continued at the Civic.

The former ABA Schoolboys national amateur champion, 21, debuted at the same venue against Seawright in November and fought-hard for a 40-37 points win.

And light welter Paddock started like a house on fire against a lethargic Carr and was the front-foot aggressor as his opponent swung back but didn't land, leaving him open to a barrage of body-shots.

'Cool Hand' faded after the first two rounds and Carr battled back to pinch a share of the third and win the fourth, but Paddock's work had been done as he took points success by one session, 38-39.

Elsewhere, Birmingham's Andrew Robinson knew little of the challenge he would face against Lithuanian visitor Krill Psonsko, a capable customer who was steady and sturdy.

But Robinson, based at Shaun Cooper's gym in Brierley Hill, held it together and resisted the urge to go gung-ho against Psonsko, who was a good bet to go the distance. 'Robbo' won 40-39 on points.

Northampton's Nathan Reeve, who was a part of the super flyweight Prizefighter of 2011, took Bulgarian import Stefan Slavchev out with clean punches in the third of their scheduled six-rounder.

By Craig Birch