Hutchinson comprehensively outclassed Taylor over 10 rounds. The scores were wide, 99-91, 98-92 & 98-92. Later this evening, unbeaten heavyweight sensation, Moses Itauma, takes on America’s Jermaine Franklin in the main event of Queensberry’s “Magnificent Seven” show.

Ranked No. 9 by The Ring, Hutchinson (20-2, 14 KOs) can be an unpredictable character in and out of the ring, but he is a talented fighter and represented a massive step up in quality for Taylor (13-1, 9 KOs).

Hutchinson’s antics sometimes overshadow how accomplished he can be. He settled quickly and instantly tagged Taylor with a sharp left hook counter. While the 31-year-old Taylor remained calm and composed, he struggled with the Scotsman’s hand speed and timing.

Taylor landed a chopping short right hand in the second, but his successes were few and far between. Hutchinson was able to make Taylor miss seemingly at will, but the Nottingham man continued to press forward, and he wasn’t being made to pay for his misses as Hutchinson cut back his output.

Hutchinson began to find the target more in the fifth. Although he didn’t alter his approach, he began to counter with more and more regularity. Taylor absorbed the shots well and maintained his shape, but for the first time in his career, he wasn’t able to land consistently.

To Taylor’s credit, he didn’t panic. He maintained his shape but just couldn’t make a serious impression on a man who once won a World Youth Championship as an amateur.

Hutchinson had found his flow state and refused to take any risks. Taylor loaded up with his right hand, but just didn’t know enough to pin down Hutchinson, who cantered over the finish line.

Hutchinson will now target a return to world level.

Gerome Warburton silenced Nathan Heaney’s large travelling support by boxing his way to a close, but clear unanimous decision victory over the former British middleweight champion.

The scores were 98-92, 97-93, and 97-93.

At the fight’s launch press conference way back in November, Warburton’s aggressive attitude seemed to take Heaney by surprise, but the intervening months had taken some heat out of affairs.

Roared to the ring to the strains of “Delilah”, Heaney (19-2-1, 6 KOs) immediately took the center of the ring and threw out straight shots from his high held guard. Warburton (17-2-2, 2 KOs) edged away and chose his moments to attack. He bloodied Heaney’s nose badly in the fifth, and from the midway point, the southpaw began to land the more eye catching punches.

It was a fight of two halves, and, after 10 rounds, the judges preferred Warburton’s clever boxing and smart punch picking.

Heaney is now 36 years old and has spoken openly about retirement, but refused to give up on his dream of boxing at the home of his beloved Stoke City, the Bet365 stadium. That dream now appears to have died.

Brad Pauls destroyed Shakiel Thompson’s world title dreams on what was proving to be a dramatic night in Manchester.

Pauls (21-2-1, 12 KOs) came from behind to score a stunning ninth round stoppage of the previously undefeated Sheffield middleweight.

A 6-feet-3 southpaw, Thompson (15-1, 11 KOs) has navigated his way to No. 3 in the IBF world rankings. Last week, the IBF ordered him to fight Italy’s Etinosa Oliha for the world title belt they recently stripped from Janibek Alimkhanuly.

Rather than withdrawing from the Pauls fight, he decided to go ahead with the assignment reasoning that it would battle harden him for the upcoming challenge. Pauls had other ideas. Thompson made a sensible start. He poked out his long jab, daring Pauls to close the distance and attempted to time him with a left uppercut. A former British middleweight champion, the tough Pauls is no respecter of reputation, but apart from the occasional right hand, he struggled to get close to the much taller man and he began spending far too much time in the danger zone. A hard left hand to the body momentarily hurt him and forced him onto the backfoot at the end of the third round, and Thompson found a hand left hand in the fourth as he tightened his grip on the fight.

With so much on the line, Thompson refused to overcommit to his attacks, but began bearing down on Pauls.

Early in the ninth and with the fight ebbing away from him, Pauls found a right hand that changed the course of his career.

Thompson was shaken to the soles of his boots and never recovered. He tottered around on stiff legs and dropped to the canvas. He got to his feet, but was still badly shaken, and when he was floored by another right hand, the referee waved the fight off. DAVIES DOMINATES GRANDELLI

Liam Davies (18-1, 9 KOs) became a two-weight European champion by dismantling Italy’s Francesco Grandelli (21-5-2, 6 KOs) in six rounds to win the featherweight title.

A series of spectacular wins put Davies into contention for a junior featherweight world title shot, but he has been looking for a route back into contention since losing to Shabaz Masoud in November of 2024. This dominant display should open doors.

The 29-year-old produced a disciplined display of hurtful boxing to take out the battle hardened 31-year-old Italian.

Towering over Grandelli, Davies pressed forward and quickly found a home for his left hook to the body. Almost immediately, there was a sense of desperation about Grandelli’s work. Constantly circling, he tried to dart in and out with short, sharp combinations, but as well as being the heavier puncher, Davies also looked the more accurate.

Grandelli is game, and tried to exchange, but he was constantly second best and was dropped by a well timed left hook in the fourth.

Badly swolen around both eyes, Grandelli went back to his corner after the fifth round in obvious discomfort. Davies seized the moment and ramped the pressure up in the sixth. Although their man made it back to the corner, Grandelli’s team pulled him out after the one-sided round.

The British lightweight division has an interesting new contender after Josh Holmes (18-0, 7 KOs) knocked out Alex Murphy (14-3) is a wild one-round shootout.

Holmes was taking his time to find his range against the taller Murphy, but was suddenly hurt by a left hook followed by a clean right hand. Although his legs legs dipped, the 30-year-old from Lancashire stayed upright and rather than covering up, he fired straight back. He shook Murphy to his boots with a with a hard right hand and flattened him with a left hook.

Murphy clambered to his feet but, having waited seers for a chance to fight on a big show, Holmes was never going to let his man off the hook. He flew across the ring, eventually flooring him with another right hand.

Murphy got up as the bell sounded, but the referee waved the fight off.

Michael Gomez Jr. (22-2, 7 KOs) got the televised portion of the Queensberry card off to a roaring start with a one-sided beating of Jordan Flynn (13-2-1, 2 KOs) at lightweight.

Moving up in weight after spending a year sidelined with injury, Gomez looked too strong for the lively Flynn and effortlessly walked him down from the opening bell. Realizing things were going wrong, Flynn quickly changed his tactics and tried to close the distance. He was hurt by a clean left hook early in the third, and Gomez kept punching until the referee stepped in to save a bloody, beaten Flynn.