By Elliot Foster

SAM MAXWELL produced arguably the best performance of his fledgling career to outline his star quality.

The former Team GB star, who won a Commonwealth Games bronze medal, chalked up his sixth victory in the paid code and took his opponent out inside a minute.

Maxwell didn’t take a shot at the Greenbank Sports Academy, exclusively live on iFL TV, against Barcelona-based Nicaraguan Elvin Perez on Friday.

The fight was back at the scene of ‘Super’ Sam’s dazzling debut back in October 2016.

And the 29-year-old, who admitted he needs to step up, will be back in action sooner rather than later.

“I need to step up a bit now, I think,” Maxwell told Boxing Scene after a barrage of shots on the ropes forced the referee to step in before the 60-second mark.

“I understand that each fight I have is progression, but it’s my career, I take the shots and I’ve got to step up at the right pace to make sure that I’m doing everything at a rate that suits me and I’ll leave that to my training team, MTK and my promoter Frank Warren.”

Maxwell will be back on April 21, in less than five weeks’ time, at the SSE Arena in Belfast.

He will be hoping to get a TV spot on the undercard of Carl Frampton’s showdown against four-time former world champion Nonito Donaire of the Philippines, exclusively live on BT Sport and BoxNation, after impressing in front of his adoring fans.

Also on the MTK show, which was billed ‘Mersey Beat Down’, Alex Dickinson –– who will too feature on the undercard of Frampton vs. Donaire in Belfast next month –– was bloodied and bruised against 29-year-old Bulgarian Ivan Emilov, who entered the ring with a record of 3-1, but came away with a 39 points to 37 win.

Ged Carroll advanced to 7-0 with a tough six-round win against Lee Connelly, losing just one round against the experienced campaigner and getting the decision comfortably by 59 points to 55.

But Ryan Farrag had to overcome some tough times in the opener.

The former European bantamweight title holder, who had been out since last September, was in against Spain’s Jose Hernandez.

Farrag, forced to bite down on the gumshield in the middle stanzas, was awarded the victory from referee Phil Edwards by a solitary point at 58 points to 57.