Stevie McKenna, the California-based Irishman, made short work of Gary McGuire, stopping him in just 73 seconds of the first of a scheduled welterweight six-rounder in the off-TV undercard fights on the Samir Ziani-Alex Dilmaghani bill in Yorkshire.

The 23-year-old Irishman won his first three professional bouts in the United States and was never likely to be tested too much by McGuire, a Scot who had only won once in 17 previous bouts.

Indeed, the biggest risk was McKenna getting disqualified as an early knockdown was followed with a blatant shot on the floor, which saw referee John Latham stop the action and issue a stern warning.

Straight from the opening bell, McKenna had trapped McGuire in a corner and began unloading, carrying on when the Scot fell to the floor. 

It was not long after the restart that McGuire was over again after being trapped in the corner, the final looping right catching him as he went down. On rising, McKenna bowled him over with a long left hook. He beat the count, but McGuire’s corner had already thrown in the towel and referee Latham waved it off.

Michael Hennessy Jr, the babyfaced 20-year-old son of promoter Mick, lost his unbeaten record as he was beaten on points in a middleweight six-rounder with Jamie Stewart.

Stewart, who was having his second professional bout having won his debut 12 months ago, outworked Hennessy for much of the fight.  At times Hennessy dominated, but he was also too static and too easy to hit. Mark Lyson, the referee, scored it 58-56 for Stewart.

The first round was close, but Stewart’s workrate gave him the second as Hennessy lacked any real authority behind the jab. Still, he did better in the third, backing Stewart into the ropes and opening up.

Stewart, 27, who did nine stretches in prison before boxing helped to straighten his life out, had a good fourth round, as Hennessy backed off, but Hennessy stepped up a gear in the fifth, doubling up the left hand and landing well with his overhand right.

But Stewart came back well again in the sixth, catching Hennessy as he walked forward, but Hennessy finished well, landing clean with a good right cross near the end. 

Former Love Island contestant Idris Virgo carried too much power for Scott Williams, although try as he might, he could not force a stoppage in their light-heavyweight four-rounder.

Virgo hurt Williams in the first minute of the first round with a vicious left hook to the body, which had Williams stumbling across the ring and landed clean with a right uppercut.

Williams had lost all his previous seven professional bouts, so it was odd that Virgo (now 7-0-1) felt the need to introduce some needle by spraying Williams with water at the weigh-in.

What it meant was that Williams was not going to give Virgo the satisfaction of knocking him down. He soaked up another heft left to the body in the second, but never stopped trying to fight back, despite being on the end of a steady stream of abuse for the final two rounds. Referee John Latham scored it 40-36 to Virgo.