Sam Noakes beat Yvan Mendy on points to win the European lightweight title at London’s York Hall on Saturday.
The victory ends Noakes’ run of 13 stoppages in a row as the Englishman was taken 12 rounds for the first time.
But the win over France’s Mendy capped off a brilliant period for the 26-year-old, who won the Commonwealth and British titles only nine weeks ago.
All three judges scored the fight 120-108 for Noakes, who is targeting a world title bout in the next 12 months.
Mendy had never been stopped before in his career, and before the first bell had a remarkable 392 rounds under his belt compared to Noakes’ 45.
It took six rounds for Noakes to give the 38-year-old a taste of his power, staggering Mendy with a right uppercut, despite it landing primarily on the glove of his opponent.
Noakes winked at Mendy as the bell came to the rescue and switched up his variety in the second half of the fight, mixing body shots with left hooks and right hands.
Despite the one-sided affair, Mendy took Noakes beyond the ninth round for the first time in his career.
He was able to avoid Noakes’ power shots and managed to tempt the Kent fighter into a shootout in the final round.
Noakes emptied the gas tank in the final 15 seconds, pushing Mendy onto the ropes, but was unable to find the stoppage.
“I knew he was going to be tough, but I was had it in the back of my head I might just get him. But I rushed it,” Noakes said.
