By Matt Bevan

Tyrone Nurse warmed up for his next British title defence with a points win.

The Huddersfield man, who has just one notch remaining on the super-lightweight crown before it’s his for keeps, will face Jack Catterall, his mandatory challenger, in his next fight.

But Nurse, who is now 35-2-2, got into the groove with his second fight in three weeks.

The 27-year-old orthodox puncher got the better of Andy Keates by 78 points to 74 over eight rounds at the First Direct Arena in Leeds.

The fight formed part of the undercard to Josh Warrington’s WBC International featherweight title showdown against Kiko Martinez, exclusively live on BoxNation and BT Sport.

And now Nurse, after a less-than-vintage performance and a cut, will prepare for his fight with undefeated WBO Inter-Continental champion Catterall (18-0, 10 KOs) on July 15 which is likely to take place at the same venue.

Elsewhere, Bob Ajisafe kicked off the show with a six-round victory over Josef Obeslo, Joe Maphosa made a successful start to his career in the paid code with a 40-36 points win over Gary Reeve.

There was a stoppage win for Reece Mould after referee Mark Lyson called a halt to his contest against Aleksandrs Birkenbergs at the end of round three and Tom Young and Kalam Leather each had their hands raised after four rounds of action.

But there was disappointment for Thomas Kindon as he lost his undefeated record at the hands of Ashley Lane in a six-round featherweight contest.