Brad Rea continued his winning ways, but the 24-year-old middleweight was taken the full eight rounds by Lukas Ndafoluma, of Namibia, on the Marshal-Hermans undercard in Newcastle. 

At 36, Ndafoluma was Rea’s best test to date although probably on the downward slope. But he started well, putting Rea under some pressure in the first round and while he was on the floor in the second round, it was ruled a stumble. 

Rea switched southpaw in the fourth round and got his big breakthrough as he walked Ndafoluma into a big left that knocked him down, although it was too late in the round to capitalize. 

The Namibian stuck with it, though, coming forward and having some success with the right as Rea stood a bit too tall. 

The seventh again saw a serious onslaught from Rea as he pushed for a stoppage, but Ndafoluma withstood it and kept firing back and never stopped coming forward. Rea is now 13-0. 

Ron Kearney, the referee, scored it 78-73. 

Middlesbrough cruiserweight Michael Webster moved to 7-0 as a pro as he stopped Germany-based Kosovan Erdogan Kadrija in the third of a scheduled six. 

Kadrija, a late sub, was smaller but gave it a go early on, but Webster boxed tall and straight and kept Kadrija at distance until he upped the pace and finished matters in the third. 

Webster had him over twice in the second round, the first time from a right hand, the second time from a body attack ended with a right, as referee Ron Kearney waved it off at 1:58. 

Matty Harris landed a huge right uppercut to level Mait Metsis, of Estonia, in the first round of their heavyweight four-rounder. 

It took only 75 seconds for Harris to have Metsis over, from two rights, but he took his time before landed a one-punch finisher as a right uppercut took him clean off his feet.  Referee Darren Maxwell did not bother with a count as he sought immediate medical help. The end came at 1:47. 

Hosea Stewart, who tipped the scales at 344 pounds and goes by the nickname of the Midlands Monster, was given a solid four rounds by reliable journeyman Phil Williams. Stewart showed a nice jab but needs to get in better shape as he moved to 2-0. Referee Ron Kearney scored it 40-37. 

April Hunter got back to winning ways with a one-sided decision over Ester Konecna, of the Czech Republic, having lost her unbeaten record to Kirstie Bavington in October. Hunter was the one always on the front foot, while Konecna looked to move and survive. Referee Maxwell scored it 60-54. 

Super-welterweight Georgia O’Connor moved to 2-0 as a professional with a six-round decision over Erica Alvarez, from Argentina. 

O’Connor was the busier but was wide open far too often to a big right hand from Alvarez, which landed several times. Referee Maxwell scored it 60-55 from ringside. 

Luke Cope moved to 3-0 with a clear points decision over Lee Connelly in a super-lightweight four-rounder.  

Cope, who had not been in action for more than three years, boxed well but didn’t really have the power to keep Connelly off him and Connelly occasionally found him as he came forward. Ron Kearney, from ringside, scored it 39-37. 

Ron Lewis is a senior writer for BoxingScene. He was Boxing Correspondent for The Times, where he worked from 2001-2019 - covering four Olympic Games and numerous world title fights across the globe. He has written about boxing for a wide variety of publications worldwide since the 1980s.