Sean Noakes maintained his unbeaten record with a straightforward six round decision victory over Lukasz Barabasz (2-9, 1 KO) in their six round welterweight bout at Wembley Arena in London.

Noakes (6-0, 3 KO’s) was credited with a knockdown at the end of the first round when a combination of a sweeping overhand right and a tangle of feet forced the experienced Pole to touch down.

The 28 year old found a regular home for that same right hand in the second round and was much too accurate for the determined but crude Barabasz. Noakes - whose heavy handed brother, Sam, was forced off the bill when his opponent withdrew at the last minute - also had success with the left hook to the body and the right uppercut but apart from a rocky spell at the end of the fourth round the tough Barabasz was able to soak up everything Noakes threw at him and fought until the final bell. Referee John Latham scored the bout 59-54 in the Maidstone man’s favor.

6ft 7in tall cruiserweight Tommy Fletcher, 21, has recorded some chilling finishes since turning professional last July and poor Alberto Tapia found himself on the floor a total of five times before eventually being saved at 1.28 of round four. The fight was scheduled for six rounds.

Fletcher (6-0, 5 KO’s) has been helping Joe Joyce get ready for his rematch with Zhilei Zhang and giving Jordan Thompson work ahead of his IBF world title fight with Jai Opetai and looked pin sharp. An accurate southpaw left hand to the body dropped Tapia (3-5, 2 KO’s) midway through the first round and although he got up, a left uppercut to the stomach floored him again as the round came to an end. Tapia jumped off his stool for the second round but walked into a storm. Fletcher knocking him down him with a long left hand to the head and, again, with another left to the body.

Referee, Marcus McDonnell, surprisingly allowed the brave Spaniard to continue when another left to the body put him over again in the third round but he finally stepped in to halt the action after Fletcher put together a sustained attack in the fourth. 

On paper, Joel McIntrye represented a huge step up in competition for Ezra Taylor. McIntyre is an experienced two-time English light heavyweight champion whilst Taylor was making just his seventh professional appearance.

Taylor showed no sign of nerves, immediately finding his rhythm with an accurate jab and looking for opportunities to land his left hook. That left hand became Taylor’s best weapon and although the experienced McIntyre didn’t panic he struggled to find his range. Most of his success came when the pair found themselves working inside although he did fire in a couple of right hands in the fourth. 

Although he was controlling the fight with his jab, Taylor began to open up in the fifth. A right uppercut landed and he landed an accurate flurry when McIntyre found himself momentarily pinned along the ropes. Aware that he must be falling behind, McIntyre bit down in the sixth. He forced couple of exchanges, landing one big right hand and a hard left that seemed to get Taylor’s attention. 

That was as good as it got for McIntyre (20-8, 5 KO’s). Taylor cut loose in the eighth and final round, hurting a tired McIntyre in the corner and letting both hands go until referee Latham jumped in to stop the fight with just one second remaining. Taylor (7-0, 5 KO’s) passed his biggest test with flying colors, at 29 years old and with little time to waste it will be interesting to see how he is moved.