Gavin Gwynne made sure to take it out of the judges’ hands this time around.

Seven months after being forced to accept a majority draw, Gwynne closed the show in style with a fifth-round stoppage of Craig Woodruff in a rematch of Welsh lightweights. No knockdowns were scored but Gwynne had battered along the ropes before referee Michael Alexander intervened at 2:02 of the fifth round in their DAZN-aired contest Saturday evening from Cardiff International Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

There was little separation between the two in their September 17 clash which ended in a twelve-round, majority draw. Gwynne was a 116-113 winner on the card of Terry O’Connor, overruled by dead-even scorecards turned in by

judges John Latham (114-114) and Phil Edwards (114-114). They fought at close quarters throughout the rematch, which Woodruff leveraged as enjoyed early success with chopping right hands and left hooks.

Gwynne took command in round four and never looked back.

Woodruff foolishly dropped his hands along the ropes, to which Treharris’ Gywnne responded with a barrage of punches. The newfound momentum by Gwynne was disrupted when time was called to insert his dislodged mouthpiece.

Gwynne continued to apply pressure in the fateful round five. Newport’s Woodruff was pinned against the ropes and unable to defend himself, which prompted a command from the referee to offer something in return. Gwynne did not let up in his two-fisted attack, which forced the stoppage.

The win extended Gwynne’s current five-fight unbeaten streak as he improved to 16-2-1 (4KOs). The 32-year-old, 6’0” lightweight picked up his first stoppage victory since February 2021 in the process.

Woodruff fell to 12-7-1 (4KOs), with his three-fight unbeaten stretch brought to a halt.

Headlining the show, Shavkat Rakhimov (17-0-1, 14KOs) defends the IBF junior lightweight title versus former claimant and local hero Joe Cordina (15-0, 9KOs).  

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox