Frankie Gavin takes Woodhouse call

'The Battle of the Blues' for the WBO Inter-Continental title went the way of Birmingham's Frankie Gavin after a split decision over Curtis Woodhouse.

The fierce rivals went head-to-head for Gavin's belt at Liverpool's Echo Arena on Saturday night, one of four 12-round title fights on Frank Warren's bumper bill of action on Sky Sports.

When the dust settled, Tony 'the Bomber' Bellew had added the British light heavyweight belt to his Commonwealth crown, while Ricky Burns retained the WBO super featherweight title in one round.

And, in the main event, John Murray's 31 fight and near eight-year unbeaten pro record came to an end, after he was bust up in seven rounds by the dazzling work of the returning Kevin Mitchell.

While two those went toe-to-toe for the WBO Inter-Continental lightweight title, Gavin and Woodhouse contested the organisation's welterweight belt.

It pitted 'Funtime' Frankie, a die-hard Birmingham City fan, against ex-Blues footballer Woodhouse, who was at St Andrew's between 2001 and 2003 after a £1million move from Sheffield United.

The 31-year-old swapped his boots for boxing gloves in 2006 but this was his first 12-round title fight, against Britain's only world amateur champion.

The two have traded verbal barbs for months and it was generally accepted going into the fight that it had gotten personal.

Those suspicions were confirmed as both flew out of the blocks, Woodhouse coming in straight lines jabbing with his right hand as Gavin threw hooks to the head and body.

The two were ticked off by referee Richie Davies at the start of the second round after an altercation at the end of the first session, stemming from Woodhouse throwing punches after the bell had gone.

Gavin started to rack up the rounds after that but never really got out of first gear against Woodhouse who, although easy to hit, had the power to force his way back into the fight.

At close quarters Woodhouse was at his most dangerous and he had Gavin scrambling out of the ropes after connecting with a left hand in the fourth round.

Gavin fought back with an uppercut in the fifth and got through with hard jabs twice in the sixth, clocking up vital middle rounds although both arguably shared the seventh.

Woodhouse took his best shot in the ninth and let fly with a left hook, blasting out Gavin's gum shield and bloodying his nose.

But it was Woodhouse who was hanging on at the end after a stiff right from Gavin with less than 30 seconds to go, sending him bouncing off the ropes on unsteady legs.

Another punch and the fight was over but the final bell sounded first, as the two shared an icy stare before eventually congratulating each other, as is customary at the end of a fight.

It went to the scorecards but the expected unanimous points decision didn't materialise, as the three judges found themselves split on the call.

First judge Terry O'Connor scored it Gavin by five rounds, 117-112, but second judge Dave Parris surprisingly had Woodhouse winning by one round, 115-114.

It was down to third judge Phil Edwards to make the call and he decided on Gavin as the wide victor, 116-113, a difference of three rounds.

The first title fight of the night saw the champion retain and, as the live Sky Sports show started rolling, Bellew looked to become the domestic king in a rematch against Ovill McKenzie.

Their first contest at the same venue last December was a thrilling eight-round affair, where Bellew was floored twice in the first two rounds before climbing off the canvas to drop and halt McKenzie later on.

But the two failed to recreate that spark in a tedious 12-round fight on Saturday night where Bellew, although lacking polish, took control as McKenzie failed to put him under pressure.

All three judges had 'the Upsetter' at least seven rounds down as Bellew - who hilariously labelled the fight "a master class" - ran out an easy winner.

'The Bomber' retains the Commonwealth title while taking home Nathan Cleverly's vacated British crown in the process – as the former champion and fierce rival looked on at ringside.

In the world title fight of the night, Burns put up his WBO world crown against former champion Nicky Cook in a contest that was expected to last a lot longer than the 93 seconds it actually did.

Cook has a history of back problems which came racing back when Burns, with the bout seconds old, landed a right to the body which hit the muscle group that connects to the spine.

Beating the count but clearly in a great deal of plain, Cook went down twice again – the second again a shot to the body – before his corner chucked in the towel, fearing for their fighter's safety.

Cook was taken straight to hospital, having suffered a prolapsed disk, and injury could have ended the 31-year-old's career.

The main event saw Mitchell, back in the ring for the first time losing a WBO world title shot against Michael Katsidis, face undefeated two-time European champion Murray.

Murray had not even been to the floor before but was picked apart by sharp punches and concentrated attacks from Mitchell, who looked back to his best.

Nursing bruising to both eyes and a cut, Murray hit the canvas in the eighth round and, although referee Terry O'Connor let the fight go on, another unanswered blow made him stop the contest.

The rest of the undercard saw Birmingham's heavyweight hitter John Loveday make his professional debut against Howard Daley, the boxing policeman from Preston.

There was 3st weight difference between the two fighters, as Daley has slimmed down dramatically since making his own paid bow in 2007.

But Loveday put all of his weight behind a right hand in the ropes that nearly brought an end to the fight, in the fourth and last round.

However, the 23-year-old former soldier couldn't capitalise and Daley lasted the distance, but Loveday was a shut out points winner.

Fellow Birmingham fighter Terry Carruthers endured more testing fortunes, as he was blown out inside a round in a light middleweight contest against Joe Selkirk.

Normally an erstwhile customer, Carruthers got caught as he went to launch a punch by throwing his body to the right, as Selkirk threw a left hand through no guard to block the shot.

Carruthers was knocked off balance and to the ground and, although he beat the count, couldn't regain his composure when he came under fire again, the referee stepping in to stop the fight.

Elsewhere on the bill, Ronnie Heffron impressed in a six-round points win over British welterweight title challenger Barrie Jones while, over the same distance, Rocky Fielding beat Jamie Ambler.

In a technical decision which went to points after Scott Moises was cut accidentally, Craig Evans was ruled the winner of their six-round featherweight contest.

Rounding off the card, Callum Johnson, Paul Butler and Mike Stafford won on points over Lee Duncan, Anwar Alfadli and Paul Morris respectively.

By Craig Birch