Chelli (17-3-1, 9 KOs) grew in confidence throughout the fight. He hurt Morrell (12-2, 9 KOs) in the ninth and finished the two-time world champion in the tenth.

Ranked at No. 5 at light heavyweight by The Ring, Morrell boxed nicely at times but paid the the most severe price for a lack of urgency.

The 28-year-old Cuban had been scheduled to fight WBO interim light heavyweight champion, Callum Smith, in early April but the Liverpudlian’s withdrawal through injury left him at a loose end. He leapt at this hastily arranged chance to stay busy against London’s Chelli.

With Smith seated at ringside, Morrell took the center of the ring and edged forward behind his southpaw jab. Although nothing significant landed in the opener, the difference in hand speed made it clear that Chelli would be at risk every time he opened up.

Pawing with his own jab and letting a long right hand go, Chelli did get a foothold in the fight in the second round and he was elusive enough to stay out of harm's way. Morrell’s output dropped as he tried to work out the puzzle in front of him and Chelli took advantage with a number of looping shots.

Morrell clicked into gear in the fifth. He began to fight with more aggression and he got his feet into range to land his hardest left hand of the fight.

He built on that good work in the sixth and landed another left but rather than looking for a finish, he took his foot off the gas and allowed Chelli to recover.

Seemingly in total control, Morrell was hurt by a right hand in the ninth and caught on the ropes. Sensing a life-changing win, Chelli let his hands go but although he landed a couple of clean shots, Morrell stayed upright.

Morrell didn’t recover between rounds and Chelli wasn’t to be denied. He came out for the tenth hunting a finish and after pinning Morrell in a corner, a clean right hook forced the referee to step in.

Gavin Gwynne rolled back the years and breathed new life into his career by eking out a hard fought win over the previously undefeated Khaleel Majid.

Stepping up to the junior welterweight division, the workaholic 36-year-old Welshman ground out a hard fought 10-round majority decision win.

The scores were 95-95, 96-94 and 96-94.

True to type, Gwynne (19-4-2, 5 KOs) poured forward from the opening bell, planting himself on Majid’s chest and landing his uppercut.

Caught in a storm, Majid (16-1, 4 KOs) elected to get involved in an inside fight rather than using his boxing skills. He enjoyed more success in the second but his aggressive style seemed to be playing into the veteran’s hands.

Gwynne is a former British, Commonwealth and European lightweight champion and although his tall frame carried the extra weight well, Majid was able to move him back to the ropes. However, Gwynne was able to find room inside and his punches were always the more eye-catching.

The fight always looked like an ambitious step up for Majid but he refused to give an inch. With Hall of Famer, Buddy McGirt, in his corner, the 28-year-old from Bolton tried to make his youth tell and by the sixth he had fallen into a nice rhythm. Majid started have more success with his left hook to the body and he was regularly having the first and last word in the close quarter exchanges.

Gwynne is a hard man with a tremendous engine and answered the bell for the eighth intent on swinging things back his way. Barely a jab was thrown as the two battled away on the inside for the entire three minutes.

Gwynne picked up his customary cut in the ninth but was totally undeterred and the pair worked each other over until the final bell. Majid’s punches did seem to have more of an effect over the course of the final round.

Although neither man was hurt, the fight was fought at a furious pace from start to finish.

Bakhodir Jalolov (17-0, 14 KOs) missed an opportunity to insert himself into the thick of the heavyweight conversation after labouring to a seventh-round stoppage win over Croatia’s Agron Smakici (21-4, 19 KOs) in the opening fight of the DAZN event.

The double Olympic super heavyweight champion cut a relaxed figure as he tried to draw his fellow southpaw into a mistake but the composed Smakici refused to take the bait and the opening couple of rounds drifted by without incident.

Strangely for such an experienced operator, Jalolov struggled to create openings for his left hand. He briefly found a home for it in the fourth but Smakici absorbed the shots comfortably.

Jalolov made no effort to force Smakici onto the back foot and continued to work at his own methodical pace. Instead, it was Smakici who sprang into action. After surviving a doctor’s inspection of a damaged right eye at the start of the seventh round, a couple of brief attacks had Jalolov looking disorganised.

That was Smakici’s last effort and his corner retired him at the end of the round.

Now 31 years old, Jalolov spent years alternating between professional and amateur codes but will need activity and urgency if he is to make a real impact on the heavyweight division.

As well as being a successful fighter, Manchester’s Brad Rea is a boxing fan. The 28-year-old light heavyweight spent his youth watching local heroes like Ricky Hatton and Anthony Crolla.

Rea (22-2, 11 KOs) now has his very own Manchester night to remember.

The former European champion put in a career best performance and scored a decisive fourth-round knockout of Liam Cameron.

During the build up to the fight, the local favourite told The Ring that he sometimes struggles to balance the need to win with a desire to entertain the fans. Showing much improved head movement, Rea struck the perfect balance during the opening round. He boxed nicely behind his jab but cut loose with a blistering assault that hurt Cameron as the round ended.

Bleeding from the nose and cut over the eye, Cameron (24-8-1, 10 KOs), struggled badly to get close to an impressive Rea who used his reach and height to perfection.

In the fourth, the Mancunian landed a chopping left hook that dropped Cameron hard. He got up on unsteady legs but Rea seized his moment, trapped Cameron in a corner and quickly forced the referee to step in.

Last October, Rea lost his European 175-pound title after a hard fought 12-round battle with his local rival, Lyndon Arthur, but has immediately reestablished himself as a major player on the British light heavyweight scene.