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Ryan Rhodes was stopped in the final by WBC junior middleweight champion Saul Alvarez in a title clash the Mexican dominated on home soil.
20-year-old Alvarez, who won the vacant belt on his last outing against another Brit, Matthew Hatton, was untroubled, and knocked a subdued Rhodes down in the fourth round.
Rhodes demonstrated survival instincts to stay in the fight, but nothing to suggest that he could claim the belt.
Alvarez, touted as one of the brightest prospects in the division, started slowly, but settled and threw a neat combinations and flurries of punches to which Rhodes had no answer.
By the seventh round Rhodes’ corner were threatening their man that they would have the fight stopped if he did not raise his performance, but very little changed.
Alvarez continued to take the rounds, and when Rhodes had a final tilt at an unlikely knockout in the final round, he was picked off and the referee called the fight to a halt.
The Mexican improves his record to 37-0 with 27 knockouts courtesy of his first defence of the WBC belt, while Rhodes suffered the fifth loss of his career to go with his 45 victories.
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