Solomon Dacres delivers on promise with knockout win

The 30-year-old, facing Webster for the second time, submitted a vastly improved performance on their first meeting last November as he recorded the third stoppage win of his career at Birmingham's Resorts World Arena on Saturday night.

Dacres, who had laboured to a split decision victory last time around in comfortably the most underwhelming performance of his professional career to date, first put Webster down near the end of the fifth round.

And the defending English champion maintained the pressure to finish the fight with a vicious combination 70 seconds into the seventh.

Dacres said: "I have put that first fight to bed. I took it at short notice and didn't perform well.

"But I got a good camp in ahead of this one. I was fit and that was the real me out there."

Dacres had been due to face former British title challenger David Adeleye before the latter pulled out late due to injury, leading to the re-match with Webster.

Adeleye, present in Birmingham as part of the TV commentary team, arrived to meet with Dacres backstage afterwards, having clearly taken umbrage with the suggestion he was ducking the fight.

That match-up now seems the logical next step for Dacres, particularly as both are now managed by Frank Warren's Queensberry Promotions.

But more important for the former Warley ABC and GB amateur star was a performance which served as a timely reminder of his potential.

After a cagey opening round, it was Webster who landed the first meaningful punch of the fight when he caught Dacres flush with an overhand right.

That at least sparked the Midlands man into life and he stepped on the gas in the latter stages of the round. By the third, he was beginning to find his range.

While Dacres was in control, there was still a sense he was holding something back. That changed in the final 30 seconds of the fifth when a swift flurry of punches forced Webster to take a knee, eventually rising back to his feet with the count on nine.

The pressure was maintained through the sixth and then, early in the seventh, Dacres moved in to finish the job. A swinging left put Webster off balance and he was struck two more times on the way down, referee (insert) waving off the contest, with the Middlesbrough-based fighter seemingly complaining about the vision in his left eye.

The win extended Dacres pro record to a perfect nine wins from nine fights.

"I was much sharper this time round," he said. "We analysed everything which happened before and my focus was just on getting the job done.

"Speed is one of my biggest attributes. I can let the combinations go and that is where I am going to put people away. I have speed and I have power. It is about showing it.

"Michael Webster is a good fighter. He is very sharp. I know him because he was on Team GB for a short while when I was there."

Asked about a potential fight with Adeleye finally happening, Dacres replied: "I don't know when it goes down. We have been asking for it for six months.

"The fight keeps getting made and he keeps pulling out. Next time I want a full purse. I'm tired of him pulling out."