The Jack Catterall-Arnold Barboza Jr undercard got off to a positive start for Eddie Hearn's stable of prospects in Manchester, with debutant Conner Tudsbury and William Crolla among the knockout victors.

Tudsbury (1-0, 1 KO) rounded off the 'Before The Bell' portion of the card, knocking out Sadaam Da Silva Caetano (7-6, 5 KOs) in his first professional bout.

A standout Team GB amateur, Tudsbury, who picked up bronze medals at the Youth World and European Championships in 2018, looked formidable from the off, landing explosive power punches at will.

In the second round Tudsbury ended the contest after landing a thudding right hand which stumbled his Belgian opponent. Mancunian Tudsbury followed up by landing a hurtful right uppercut which floored Da Silva Caetano.

The referee gave Da Silva Caetano a full count before deciding enough was enough.

Manchester's own William Crolla, younger brother of former WBA lightweight champion Anthony, (7-0, 6 KOs) impressed as he blew out journeyman Ayoub Zakari (5-9-1, 0 KOs) in the first round of their junior-middleweight contest.

The first stanza was a fairly reserved one, but with under 30 seconds to go, Crolla landed a sharp left hook to Zakari's temple, staggering him instantly.

Crolla poured on the shots with another sustained attack against the ropes, forcing Mark Lyson to step in and save the Spaniard from further damage with 17 seconds left.

Aqib Fiaz (13-1, 2 KOs), desperate to get back to winning ways after his devastating stoppage defeat to Reece Bellotti in October 2023, took on Lydon Chircop (7-3, 4 KOs) in the second bout of the night.

Fiaz was downed in the eighth round when he fought Bellotti 15 months ago on the Catterall-Linares undercard, wilting under the immense pressure the Watford man put him under.

But he came out with a vengeance tonight in Manchester, landing spiteful, if a little careless at times, shots which pummelled through his opponent's guard.

Like Catterall, Fiaz is trained by Jamie Moore, who would've had to remind his fighter not to stray low with his body shots. Twice the referee had to stop the contest in the first two rounds to allow Chircop to recover.

Fiaz turned the screw towards the end of the second and finally got through with a body shot, flooring Chircop with a punch perfectly placed around the side of the Maltese fighter's left elbow.

The pressure finally told in the third round as Fiaz's barrage of uppercuts against the ropes forced referee Darren Sarginson to step in and call a halt to the contest.

Young featherweight contender Alfie Middlemiss (2-0, 0 KOs) got the evening underway with a four-round points win over Caine Singh (1-6-2, 0 KOs).

Middlemiss, who is also trained by Moore, showed off much of the same slick skill he exhibited in his debut in December, landing swift uppercuts and piercing right hands throughout.

In the third round, Middlemiss landed a perfectly-timed overhand right which buzzed Singh, but it was the home fighter who had a cut open up over his left eye.

The gash didn't panic the 21-year-old, however, as he went on to perfectly box to orders in the final round, landing another meaty uppercut for good measure en route to a 40-37 points victory.