Gavin targets British title after latest stoppage

Frankie Gavin's latest victory could pave the way to a British 10st title shot before the summer.

The slippery Second City southpaw registered his ninth win in as many paid bouts (eight inside) with a cultured seventh-round stoppage over Prizefighter welterweight champion Michael Lomax at York Hall on Saturday (February 19).

Gavin was originally penciled in for an eight-rounder against ultra-durable Frenchman Mounir Guebbas but had been elevated to 12-round main event status after a last-minute injury to ex-training partner Tony Bellew, who'd been set to defend his Commonwealth light-heavyweight title for the first time.

A fight against former European lightweight boss Jason Cook was put forward as a new bill-topper, but Cook was rejected by the BBBofC due to worries about the Welshman making 10st at such late notice.

So in came Lomax, like the Brummie a right-leading fighter, and on paper it looked a difficult assignment.

The 32-year-old Essex stylist, as said, was a winner of the welterweight edition of Prizefighter, scalping former EBU champ Ted Bami along the way, and had only tasted defeat to championship-level fighters - Kell Brook (British title challenge, three), Bradley Pryce (points over eight) and current British and Commonwealth welterweight monarch Craig Watson (also on points over eight).

He had shown glimpses of quality - even if they were brief - in all three of those losses.

Against the fast-punching, fast-moving 2007 World Amateur Champion, however, he was never at the races.

Well-supported from Birmingham, Anthony Farnell-trained Gavin, 25, punished the Chingford boxer, now 17-4-1 (2), round after round until Lomax's corner had seen enough and threw the towel in with 18 seconds remaining of the seventh stanza.

Now Frankie has targeted ownership of the coveted Lonsdale Belt, won on the same night in the capital - albeit on a Hennessy Sports-promoted show in Wembley - by globe-trotting Ashley Theophane.

Whether Theophane, who is ranked highly by the IBF at welterweight and hinted after his unanimous 12-round decision over Lenny Daws that he may relinquish the belt he'd just won, would accept the high-risk-low-reward contest with Gavin remains to be seen.

But the Frank Warren-promoted Yardley prospect, due to box again in April, has indicated he'd seriously fancy the job against the Londoner or any of Britain's premier 140lb fighters given the chance.

"I've seen his (Theophane's) fights and he's a class act. But i'll beat him hands down if he steps up to the plate," added the Birmingham City supporter.