It is now nine months since Noakes (19-1, 16 KOs), The Ring’s No. 7-rated lightweight contender, dropped a unanimous decision to Abdullah Mason as they battled for the vacant WBO title November 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

England’s Noakes bounced back from the defeat at York Hall, Bethnal Green on May 3, when he stopped Mexican journeyman Benito Sanchez Garcia in the second of their scheduled eight-rounder. He beat Berinchyk on a much bigger stage, in the co-feature before British heavyweight Moses Itauma and Croatia’s Filip Hrgovic fought for the vacant IBF title at O2 Arena.

If beating Garcia was getting back on the horse for Noakes, this victory over Berinchyk (19-2, 9 KOs), a former WBO lightweight champ, allowed him to return to the race at 135 pounds. Noakes marked the occasion by paying tribute to country legend Dolly Parton, who died aged 80 this week.

All three judges agreed Noakes was a wide winner, with Marcus McDonnell scoring it a shutout for him, 100-90. Manuel Oliver Palomo (99-91) and Jean Houblon (98-92) had it slightly closer.

Ukraine’s Berinchyk had not boxed since Keyshawn Davis stopped him in the fourth round of their February 2025 fight for Berinchyk’s WBO belt at Madison Square Garden’s Theater in New York.

Noakes delighted the packed crowd at with his ringwalk tune and the Maidstone man got straight to work, landing a short right hand with less than a minute on the clock. Berinchyk was moving well, but throwing little, and Noakes was given almost nothing to think about as he attempted to walk the former champion down throughout the second.

It was more of the same through three and four and Berinchyk even began switching stances in a bid to turn the tide, though nothing was sticking. Even so, Noakes struggled to pin him down and land anything meaningful.

The fight continued at a high pace, yet there were few flash points between the pair, with Berinchyk able to elude noted puncher Noakes, who started his career with 13 straight knockouts.

Emerging welterweight force Constantin Ursu (16-0, 7 KOs) impressed en route to an eighth-round stoppage of Ben Vaughan (12-3, 4 KOs) in before Noakes beat Berinchyk.

This was the first defense of the British title Ursu won by beating Owen Cooper in Derby on February 28. He made history that night, becoming the first Moldova-born holder of the belt, but he insists that accolade will be just a footnote in his rise toward world title contention.

Before that victory, Ursu was considered one of British boxing’s best-kept secrets, as he worked away down in Plymouth and did his business on small hall shows.

But he signed promotional terms with Frank Warren’s Queensberry after beating Cooper. This southpaw derby against fellow lefty Vaughan was the first fight of the deal, and he used it to make a statement.

Northampton’s Vaughan, 27, arrived in London 2-2 in his last four and knew that a victory over red-hot favorite Ursu would transform his career completely. He made a bright start against Ursu, who spent much of the first few rounds punching gloves.

Despite Vaughan’s corner insisting that Ursu was slowing down, the champion grew into the fight, using a snaking left hand to hurt Vaughan to body and head. After one particularly damaging shot in the third, Ursu even paused to aim verbals toward Vaughan’s corner.

The challenger hung in there valiantly, but Ursu, also Commonwealth champion, grew in confidence when he opened up a deep gash above the challenger’s right eye. He even started kissing his gloves before landing in a punishing seventh for Vaughan.

Referee Michael Alexander waved off the fight at the start of the eighth on the advice of the ringside doctor, who deemed the cut too severe to continue.

There was heavyweight action on the undercard, too, as Nelson Hysa (25-0, 23 KOs) maintained his knockout streak thanks to a second-round stoppage of Thomas Narmo in a meeting of undefeated big men.

Norway’s Narmo arrived with a perfect record (14-0, 14 KOs), but it was evident from the outset that he had little chance of disrupting the 41-year-old Hysa’s march toward the upper echelon of the division. “The Albanian Eagle” is ranked No. 6 by the WBA and No. 13 by the WBO and now has 19 stoppages in a row.

Narmo, 32, had some success with his double jab, cross combination in the first round, but he never looked comfortable under fire from Hysa.

With 20 seconds gone in the second, the first meaningful shot, a right hand, that Hysa landed put Narmo down. He managed to reach his feet before Howard Foster completed his count, but he was in no state to continue.

Guido Vianello (14-3-2, 12 KOs) draw Moses Jolly (12-0-1, 8 KOs) PTS 6 – heavyweights

Arbnor Jashari (10-0, 3 KOs) def Numan Hussain (8-2-2, 1 KO) PTS 6 – junior lightweights

Aloys Junior (12-1, 9 KOs) def Sherif Musah (4-3-1, 2 KOs) PTS 6 – cruiserweights

Zayn Ahmed (3-0, 1 KO) def Liam Fitzmaurice (0-19) TKO 2 – heavyweights

Frankie Wood (5-0, 2 KOs) def Callum Lee (8-1, 1 KO), PTS 6 – featherweights

Sam King (7-0-1, 1 KO) def Jack Swallow (4-13-1, 1 KO) PTS 6 – middleweights

Tony Curtis (14-1, 3 KOs) def Imad Naseeb (8-1, 2 KOs) PTS 6 – junior bantamweights

Hassan Ishaq (4-0, 3 KOs) def Enzo Munoz (4-17-4, 2 KOs) PTS 4 – junior featherweights