Ben Whittaker put himself on the brink of a world title fight after surviving a nervy ending in his unanimous points win over Conor Wallace in Birmingham on Saturday.
In his biggest test as a professional, Whittaker dominated the more experienced Wallace for nine rounds and hardly put a foot wrong as he boxed and showboated his way to an unassailable lead.
But a big left hand from Wallace in Round 10 changed the momentum of the bout.
Whittaker's legs looked shaky at times in the closing stages of the fight, but he kept swinging and held on, with the judges scoring the IBF title eliminator 117-111, 116-112 and 115-113.