After a split draw in October when they met a few miles west at Braehead Arena, the pair ran it back in this final eliminator for the green-and-gold strap.

Once again Collins and Lorente went all 12 rounds, but this time the judges could decide their winner, although it was close once again.

Lorente (21-0-3, 8 KOs) was knocked down by a jab in the sixth but appeared to outhustle the bookies’ favorite to rack up a lead on the cards. Even so, judge Giovanni Poggi of Italy scored Collins a wide 116-111 winner, but American Barry Lindenmann and Collins’ compatriot Victor Loughlin had Lorente winning 115-112.

“I felt nervous because of the knockdown, but my corner told me not to change the gameplan," Lorente said. "They told me to win all the rounds to get the victory and that’s what I tried to do.

“I knew I needed to win to secure the future for me and my family. From Spain to the world, soon we will have a world champion.”

It's been six months since the pair combined to serve up a classic for Lorente’s European title. Collins had built an early lead on the cards that night, but Lorente got stronger down the stretch and earned a draw. Collins said the decision felt just as bad as a defeat.

The Scot also told The Ring that he has been unable to watch the fight back due to how badly he boxed in the later rounds and he intensified his training camp in the hope of maintaining his shape better should the rematch also go late.

In the few clips he had seen on social media, Collins had seen himself “flailing wildly” but there was none of that in a tentative first round from both at Glasgow’s OVO Hydro. Lorente had said the first three minutes in the Scottish capital would be his “Round 13,” but that was not the case, either.

Collins, a southpaw, started to gradually turn up the heat throughout the second round as he found a home for a series of pinpoint left hands although he chose to keep his distance instead of building on the success.

Lorente got through with a couple of right-hand warning shots of his own, but much like the first fight he was beginning to fall behind on the cards. Through three rounds, both had landed just seven jabs each, which told the story of a cagey first quarter.

The fifth round was a good one for Lorente who was rewarded for upping his own activity levels by landing more regularly. Collins’ corner was not happy as he sat down at the end of the round. “You do know you’re in a final eliminator for the WBC world title don’t you?” he was asked.

But Collins (17-1-1, 8 KOs) responded to the telling off by dropping Lorente within 40 seconds of the restart. The first fight had exploded into life in the sixth and Collins had emptied the tank in search of a finish. This time, after dropping Lorente with a stiff jab, Collins did not get greedy and stuck to his boxing.

Then, with 30 seconds left of the round, Lorente sprung into action and unloaded with a barrage of hooks, some of which were blocked by Collins, but some of which definitely found a home. Lorente was clearly growing into the fight as he had done the first time around and suddenly Collins’ tidy boxing was not having the same effect.

Despite his increase in training camp intensity, Collins appeared to be tiring by the ninth while Lorente upped the pace himself. At this point it was anyone’s fight, but Lorente who was forcing the issue.

Lorente, of Barcelona, was dictating the jab exchanges and having success when he turned the lead hand into a slashy hook. Very little was hurting Collins but he was being simply outworked.

Collins did stiffen Lorente’s legs momentarily with a left hand early in the 12th and did his best to build on that flashpoint. He continued to press the Spaniard and put together his best round of the fight. By then, however, it was too little, too late as he lost for the first time.