Savannah Marshall produced a brutal second-round assault on Lolita Muzeya to retain her WBO middleweight belt in Newcastle.
Having withstood an aggressive start from the previously-unbeaten African, the Hartlepool girl went into overdrive in the second session, referee Michael Alexander calling a halt at 1-58.
The 30-year-old, having landed one vicious uppercut in the first round at a raucous Utilita Arena, got through with more in the second along with some thumping left-right combinations.
With her power beginning to tell, Marshall trapped Muzeya on the ropes, piling in in the punches to Lolita’s head and Mr Alexander’s intervention was well timed.
Marshall, usually the most restrained of entertainers, could not contain her delight at the end, leaping on the corner posts to salute the fans.
Two very high-profile Britons hoping to join Savannah at world level each tasted victory on the BOXXER show, both bizarrely, to retirements at the end of the fifth round by their German opponents.
Chris Eubank Jr was just getting into his stride when Wanik Awdijan decided he’d had enough.
He spoke at length to his trainer who called over referee, Michael Alexander, who waved it off. The 26-year-old said he suffered a body punch that he couldn’t recover from.
The opening couple of rounds were very much a feeling-out operation and it was only by round three that Eubank began to prowl forward, jabbing sharply and forcing the former IBF Youth belt-holder back.
A right and left at the start of the fourth from Eubank lifted the noise level from the big crowd and while there was a left on the button from Awdijan in reply, the Brighton fighter was going up the gears.
Having successfully retreated for four rounds, the Armenian-born visitor began to take more punishment in the fifth though no-one could have imagined the fight would end when it did.
Hughie Fury sent out a statement in the heavyweight division, even if the conclusion was not as he perhaps would have wanted.
Opponent Christian Hammer was pulled out by his corner at the end of the fifth round of their international 12-rounder, with referee Steve Gray accepting the retirement with a bicep injury.
The clash was just warming up when the end came after an exciting fifth round when both boxers scored with shots.
Two rights through the middle by the German brought gasps from the crowd but Fury responded impressively with a string of head shots, though his progress was interrupted when Mr Gray docked a point from Christian for hitting after an instruction to break.
Earlier, Fury had the better of each of the opening rounds, looking relaxed as he flicked out his jab and used his movement to score repeatedly.
