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Ricky Hatton leads Sam Evans to a TKO

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Wednesbury's Sam Evans stole the show at Walsall Football Club by scoring the fight night's only TKO with boxing legend Ricky Hatton in his corner.

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'The Hitman' has brought the teenager into the pro game and his coaching was clear to see on Saturday night's paid bow, writes Craig Birch.

Hatton won British, WBF, IBO AND IBF world titles in the light welterweight division where Evans will campaign.

And the 19-year-old is off to a flying start, after forcing the finish against Latvian Zaurs Sadihovs in the third of a four-round contest.

Evans was measured in the first and started to land freely come the second, seizing the opportunity to land a right hook to the rib-cage as they tangled at close quarters.

He listened to instructions from Hatton to step it up in the third, with Sadihovs hurt and getting on his bike when referee Kevin Parker stepped in.

Evans looked Hatton-esque with the right hand to the body landing at will, with Sadihovs pulled out for throwing nothing back. It was exactly halfway through the round.

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Hatton had two other fighters on the show, with Market Harborough's Reuben Arrowsmith also debuting against Kevin McCauley.

Arrowsmith dropped a share of a round against the former Midlands welterweight champion, who lives in Stourbridge, in winning 40-37 on points with Parker after four.

It came after three straight points landslides starting with Stoke's Andy Keates, returning to where he won the Midlands light welterweight title from Bloxwich's Luke Paddock last month.

Keates is dropping down to lightweight to go for the vacant English lightweight title against Kevin Hooper next month, warming up with a 60-54 success over Matt Seawright over six twos.

Another of Hatton's charges, Anthony Upton, went the full eight with ex-English title challenger Liam Richards to stay unbeaten at light welter after 11 pro bouts. It was 80-72 with Parker.

Stoke's Kieran McLaren shut out evergreen Brummie Jason Nesbitt, in the veteran's 203rd paid outing, after six twos at light welter. It was, again, 60-54, this time with Lee Cook officiating.

Manny Zaber (right) operates behind a high guard against Joe Beeden.

Cradley Heath's Manny Zaber made it a hat-trick of pro victories since turning over, with a four-round points landslide over Swindon's Joe Beeden.

The lightweight from Old Hill, as has been his style, tried to set a pace while Beeden kept it tight, getting caught with a right uppercut as he tried to move in low during the second.

'Pac Man' tried to punch through Beeden in the third, landing right hands to the head flush although his opponent took it well.

But it was Zaber who had to take a step back in the last round, when a clash of heads again cut him by the right side of his head, as it did against Seawright in his last fight.

Steven Pearce gets the decision in the last fight against Arvydas Trizno. Picture courtesy of UKO Boxing.

That gave Beeden enough heart to win a share of the fourth, but he was still widely defeated on the cards. Cook had it 40-37, among that the first round that Zaber has lost.

The main event was a tune-up for Stourbridge's Steven Pearce, ahead of his shot at English welterweight champion Adam Little in Blackpool on December 12.

Some cagey opening rounds over the six led to them meeting in the centre of the ring at halfway, which is very much how Pearce likes to fight.

He reverted to type and went to the body of tough Lithuanian Arvydas Trizno, who was going nowhere by firing back with shots to the head.

Missed punches, as he shook off the ring rust, meant Pearce didn't trouble Trizno, who had come to cause him problems, as he would have liked.

Pearce did enough for Parker to win by another points shut-out, 60-54, as he nicked some close rounds along the way. The distance was needed, after injuries over six months out of action.