Jason Cunningham shocks Gamal Yafai with points win to lift European Title

Gamal Yafai lost his European super-bantamweight title in his first defence when fellow British challenger Jason Cunningham knocked him down three times and scored a very deserved 12 round unanimous decision on Matchroom Boxings European Title triple-header at the Manchester Arena.

In the fight of the night, Yafai showed what a tough battler he is, never giving up after the worst start he could possibly have dreamt of. Down from straight left-hands in the 2nd, 4th, and 6th rounds, he kept walking Cunningham down, throwing himself forward in an attempt to land that big shot that might turn things round in his favour.

Stints as Commonwealth bantamweight and featherweight champion showed Cunningham's early promise, but losses to the likes of Yafai's brother Khalid, Michael Conlan, Reece Belotti, and Jason Booth hinted that anything above domestic level might be out of reach for the Doncaster 31-year-old. How wrong we all were.

In a brilliant display of back-foot boxing, Cunningham walked Yafai onto countless straight right-hands that carried solid power. His discipline and stamina were outstanding.

Scores: Ian John-Lewis 114-111 | John Latham 114-111 | Mark Lyson 115-110.