By Elliot Foster

Ice Arena, Cardiff, Wales - Lee Haskins proved that he belongs with a world title around his waist after cruising to victory in his first defence.

The Bristol bantamweight kept hold of his IBF world title against Ivan Morales, the younger brother of Mexican legend Erik, at the Ice Arena in Cardiff, Wales.

Haskins, who was handed the title after the man he was due to challenge for it last November, Randy Caballero, failed to make the weight, got the job done at the venue across the Severn Bridge, exclusively live on Channel 5.

The end of the fight saw the three scoring judges at ringside turn in scorecards of 119-108, 118-110 and 118-110 to award the champ the victory against an underwhelming challenger.

Morales was going for history, attempting to establish the first ever trio of brothers to hold world titles from Mexico. His older brothers Diego Morales and Erik Morales were former champions.

As for what next awaits the reigning bantamweight champ, ‘Playboy’ must now face his mandatory challenger, Stuart Hall, in a rematch of their 2012 showdown. The two are ordered to work out terms for the fight to take place within 90 days after Hall outpointed Rodrigo Guerrero in a final eliminator contest last month.

It was a good fight and Haskins, who won the interim crown against Ryosuke Awasa 11 months ago, called it “a dream come true.”

“I’m literally going to punch [Stuart Hall’s] face in. He’s talking a wet dream,” said Haskins. “I’ve beaten him comfortably, giving him and boxing lesson, before and now I want to knock him out.”

boxing

ON THE UNDERCARD

Andrew Selby proved he is the best flyweight in the country after picking up a domestic title.

The Welshman, who is the younger brother of IBF featherweight world champion Lee, dazzled at the Wales Ice Arena, against Louis Norman, as part of the undercard to Lee Haskins’ first IBF bantamweight world title defence against Ivan Morales of Mexico.

Selby, 27, was handed the victory and the British flyweight title on all three judges’ scorecards against the Leicester man –– who was unable to emulate his city football team by winning a title in the month of May –– in what was just his fifth fight, exclusively live on Spike TV.

‘AC Superstar’ was declared the winner by margins of 119-110, 120-109 and 120-109 against the former English champion, who is now 11-2-1 (2 KOs).

The fight was sensational from beginning to end, with both fighters leaving it all in the ring on the Cyclone Promotions card, which was hosted at the fantastic Cardiff venue in association with Sanigar Events.

Selby was dominant throughout and, although Norman had certain patches of success, he was never in any danger as he somewhat cruised through the 12-round distance.

Norman deserves immense credit for going the distance under the pressure issued by Selby, but the 2012 Olympian –– from Barry –– has one of the sport’s brightest futures and will be looking to get a couple of quick-fire defences of the prestigious Lord Lonsdale’s challenge belt, which was won in a very competitive fight, before moving onto European and global honours in the near future.

Meanwhile, Morgan Jones kept up his unbeaten run in the paid code with a stoppage victory over Richard Harrison.

Jones is now 7-0 (3 KOs) after the three-round ending, but Harrison –– who only turned professional last December –– slipped to 1-5 in defeat.

Paddy Gallagher won his first professional belt in an electric showdown.

The Belfast welterweight, 26, stopped Wales’ Tony Dixon inside a round at the Wales Ice Arena in Cardiff, as part of the undercard to Lee Haskins’ first IBF bantamweight world title defence against Ivan Morales of Mexico.

Gallagher, a 2010 Commonwealth Games gold medallist who’s now 10-2 (6 KOs), caught the Mountain Ash man with a big right hand in the latter stages of the opener, forcing him to the canvas, exclusively live on Spike TV.

To his credit, Dixon, who drops to 7-1 (2 KOs) in defeat, attempted valiantly to rise from the canvas after being ridded of his senses but was counted out by the referee Bob Williams.

Earlier in the card, Josh Taylor dazzled in his fifth professional outing, keeping up his record of stopping all of his opponents to date.

‘The Tartan Tornado’, from Edinburgh, got rid of Honduran opponent Miguel Gonzalez in just 93 seconds and will now be preparing for his Sky Sports date of May 28, when he features at the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland, on the undercard of Ricky Burns’ aim to make history by becoming the first Scot to win three world titles in different weight divisions against Italy’s Michele Di Rocco for the vacant Super WBA super-lightweight title.

And Nathan Thorley moved to 5-0 (2 KOs) with a points victory over Elvis Dube over four rounds, landing the decision by a margin of 40 points to 36 in a pretty straightforward showing.