Devine wins Southern Area title at York Hall

The 23-year-old was knocked down in the opening round, but recovered to put Naylor on the canvas midway through the final round as he took the decision after going 10 rounds for the first time in his career.

Early on Devine looked to be struggling in the first round as he evaded a good shot, before being knocked down by a glancing blow.

He was cut as well as Naylor made the more composed start to the fight.

Naylor was on the floor in the second, but this time it was due to an accidental tangle of legs, while Devine finally started to grow into the fight, landing two clean shots and was quick to counter whenever possible.

Now looking far more confident, Devine had to weather some stern blows in round three before unleashing a number of his own.

Both traded fierce blows, which whipped the crowd into a frenzy just before the bell.

The Lutonian had his opponent rocking in the fourth but also got caught with two good blows himself and another after the ball had been rung, which wasn’t appreciated.

The fifth saw Naylor happy to pick his punches from range, while Devine was on the canvas once more in round six, but this time it was purely due to a slip.

He had Naylor on the ropes once more soon afterwards, exploding into a flurry of punches and upped the pace in round seven too, knowing he had to deliver something special.

Devine kept at his opponent as the fight wore on, following him round the rink and unloading an array of body shots, which continued into round nine as both fighters showed their conditioning work had paid dividends

The Luton boxer saved the best for the last round as a left hand over the top sent Naylor to the floor for a standing count.

Again Devine was the aggressor though and although both boxers cautiously celebrated the result at the end, Devine’s was done with that little bit more conviction.

It was his hand that was raised by the referee too as he leaped onto the corner of the ring, and celebrated with his vocal fans who had made the trip from Luton.

An unhappy Naylor sought out the referee for a word after the bout, but nothing could stop Devine from hoisting his first title.

For an exclusive interview with Devine, see the News/Gazette on sale Wednesday.