Brad Pauls vs Denzel Bentley LIVE RESULTS: Newquay Bomb LOSES epic title clash while Okolie WINS with a brutal KO

Noakes: We knew Walsh wouldn't quit!

Refreshingly candid as ever in his post-fight interview, Sam Noakes concedes there aren't going to be "any easy fights anymore" as he steps up towards world level in a deadly lightweight division.

"Just gotta keep growing and hats off to him [Walsh], he's got a very hard head as you saw! We knew the corner wouldn't pull him out, fought until the last minute and deserved to see the final bell with some of the shots he was taking."

His head coach Al Smith: "We exercised patience in the corner, maturity, he could've gone for the finish with a bit more pressure but we've got a way to go … if there's an opportunity for a big fight though, we'll take it."

Noakes eases to UD12 win!

119-109, 120-108, 120-108: Sam Noakes bt. Ryan Walsh via UD, retains British, Commonwealth and WBO International lightweight titles

Boxed like a seasoned pro, didn't get carried away and continued chipping away at a grizzled veteran who didn't offer much by round three and the 27-year-old goes the 12-round distance a second time in eight months - never a bad thing!

Noakes vs Walsh R12

So they enter the final round, Walsh looks worse for wear and his nose tells the story of a one-sided beatdown - patient, methodical and perhaps even more damaging than the explosive knockout trio that preceded this.

Noakes presses forward, connects on a few big shots but every time Ryan senses danger, he holds or finds a way to survive the onslaught.

Admittedly an anticlimactic ending given how easily Noakes was in control but he didn't lose a round nor leave third gear for large spells.

Noakes vs Walsh R11

More on that previous post... Noakes is #3 with the WBO, behind Keyshawn Davis (#1) and Raymond Muratalla (#2). Both above him have boxed in the last month and scored second-round stoppage wins over Gustavo Lemos and Jesus Perez Campos respectively.

Sam continues to sting and probe a wily veteran firing far less back in response and now I'm really interested for this post-fight interview.

Berinchyk-Noakes next?

Meanwhile, I've just seen an official fight poster with WBO world lightweight champion Denys Berinchyk vs. Sam Noakes on the Usyk-Fury 2 undercard, in some 14 days' time, circulating on social media.

Everyone's ignored that and instead focusing on the fact that Ishmael Davis will step into the breach again... facing Serhii Bohachuk on December 21 in Riyadh, after former WBA light-middleweight world titlist Israil Madrimov withdrew with a bout of acute bronchitis.

Wonder what we'll hear in the post-fight interview... was that meant to be released? Could they reschedule for the Feb. 22 card, where Madrimov will box Vergil Ortiz on a stacked Saudi show next year?

Noakes vs Walsh R9

Dig deep is being consistently barked ringside but it's falling on deaf ears now as Walsh is purely in survival mode now, little more than that.

The ringside doctor's taking a long look in the corner after watching the cumulative damage pile up... somehow they're still going and the final quarter of this 12-rounder begins.

Noakes vs Walsh R8

Straight jab pierces through the guard lands flush for Noakes, taking his time and going up the gears as Walsh's intermittent resistance continues. "Give him everything you've got," is being repeatedly barked at a challenger who looks on his last legs now and cooked.

Looked moments away from a stoppage sequence at the end of this round just now... but again the bell comes to his aid.

Noakes vs Walsh R7

Walsh winces as he eats a straight in the first minute of another one-sided round and well, if not for the referee's intervention as they tie up, he could've easily been needing to climb off the canvas there.

Noakes staying composed behind the jab, connects on a three-punch combination before more of the same - holding gives Walsh reprieve.

Noakes vs Walsh R6

You can't help but feel a bit for Ryan Walsh's corner, willing their man on as best they can though he can't match that intensity against a younger, fresher boxer beating him to the punch and versatile enough to pepper him a myriad of different ways.

Noakes narrowly misses with a haymaker in the final half-minute, then has the 38-year-old pinned against the corner frantically dodging flurries in the final seconds of another dominant round.

How much longer can this persist? Into the second-half of this 12-round contest, we'll soon find out.

Noakes vs Walsh R5

Intermittent punches thrown by a weary challenger but Noakes' body punching is starting to take a toll, he can't mask it much longer and that has only enthused the champion - use that method of attack further. These rounds are becoming gruelling for Ryan now.

Noakes vs Walsh R4

Into the fourth they go and Noakes is cranking up the uppercuts as Walsh wades further back... a disguised body shot hurt the grizzled veteran in the final half-minute and after absorbing two to the head, the bell sounds at just the right moment for him to recover.

"Use your double jab" is the latest, a louder plea ringside but something tells me Walsh can't exactly execute the way his support team would like... into the fifth they go.

Noakes vs Walsh R3

Noakes meets air as he whizzes a few cuffing hooks in Walsh's direction, but the intent is there for one man and the champion's dictating pace in an ominous manner - almost as if he's waiting for the right moment to strike. Stiff right hand lands flush, then a deft body punch and Walsh gets caught standing static in the pocket.

This feels like a fight Noakes can finish whenever he wants to, truthfully. Uppercuts are flowing, he's found his range and Walsh has a bloodied nose too, never a good sign against a power puncher.

Noakes Walsh R2

Noakes tees off with a four-punch combo a minute into the round, just as I was about to say... Walsh needs to get his respect and quickly here, otherwise this will resemble target practice for the champion.

"Go first and break him down Ryan," is the cry ringside from one of the challenger's team, but it's easier to say and harder to do against someone with the punch power Noakes possesses. Heaney had an interesting anecdote I'll share with you later, so stay tuned for that.

Anyway, "get your jab popping," is the latest instruction for Walsh but he's increasingly on the defensive and gets his head pinged back to finish another solid stanza for a patient favourite right now.

Noakes Walsh R1

Sam Noakes looks a million dollars as he soaks up the reception, older brother Sean proudly holding his British crown before fight #4 of the year for an active, ambitious hopeful looking to bridge that gap to world championship level in the not-too-distant future.

Noakes paws out the right hand, then patiently picks punches downstairs against a twitchy opponent yet to really land anything of note through 90 seconds.

Instead, it's the champion applying pressure and a looping right hand causes damage to finish a good round worth of work.

Crotty cruises to debut win

Dylan Courtney did well to hear the final bell in truth, against a motivated debutant who chained attacks nicely... and left his opponent bloodied and bruised over four rounds. 40-36 the final score, no surprises there, a decent float bout with two bouts left.

Unbeaten lightweight contender Sam Noakes faces a deceptively difficult challenge in Ryan Walsh, making his way to the ring now.

Pauls' support team very vocal...

Into the second round as debutant Crotty unloads combinations against Courtney, who isn't firing back often but doing enough to partially block flurries of shots. Saying that, I can see his nose is a crimson red and he looks weary... must be glad it's a four-rounder.

I hear shouts of Newquay Bomb every few minutes ringside, as the build-up to tonight's main event heats up. Nathan Heaney is on analysis duty with talkSPORT a few feet from the ring, so you can't help but wonder how he's feeling about two former foes here.

Warren excited about Okolie's future

Warren beaming after another brilliant night for another new recruit: "He's got a good trainer and prepared well to make a statement. What is he, 29-1? Done the business in style, so big fights are there for him next year. The heavyweight division is something else."

Given the seamless pacing tonight... now in the ring, it's time for the evening's float fight over four rounds as George Crotty makes his pro debut at light-heavyweight against 2-17-2 pro Dylan Courtney.

Okolie: Three-division world champ, why not?

After logging a second consecutive first-round stoppage, Lawrence Okolie says he's enjoying training camp more and able to enjoy himself because he doesn't have to worry about cutting weight.

"As soon as I hit them, they start going. I'm ready for the best in the world, felt tired having to make that [cruiserweight], now I know every round I can be explosive and then recover, it feels good."

Joe Gallagher concedes his charge was under a lot of pressure and there were still some technical mistakes they can clean up, but given this was his first fight under the Queensberry banner... not a bad debut! "He can seriously punch and will be in the [heavyweight] mix."

Okolie sleeps Muhamed!

No jinx here as that makes it three early KOs in a row! Okolie catches Muhamed on the chin with a peach of a right hand, he scampers back to his feet but referee Lee Every had seen enough, it's all over.

2:14 the official time, as the Joe Gallagher-trained heavyweight will now target top names in 2025 from a division that had always seemed inevitable at some stage during his career. Lovely finish!

Okolie vs Muhamed R1

The referee warns Muhamed, then Okolie, as both are guilty of punching behind the head a tad in the early going.

One thing immediately apparent? Just *how* big Okolie is, who campaigned at cruiserweight - and was a WBO world champion - throughout his career until very recently. 260lbs and he looks exactly that against a slow, plodding German...

Lawrence Okolie up next...

Loving the pace of this card, as we're just two fights (!) away from main event territory now.

WBC Silver heavyweight title on the line as two-weight world champion Lawrence Okolie looks to make a statement on his Queensberry debut vs. former sparring partner Hussein Muhamed.

Don't wanna jinx it but after two vicious stoppages, can we get three in a row? Or am I being greedy. First bell moments away now.

Adeleye and his trainer Adam Booth speak...

14 months between bouts, especially after an injury, is never ideal for any boxer... not least one looking to rebound following a crushing first pro defeat like Adeleye was here.

He hopes Dacres will be okay in time and has good people around him because that old adage rings true: boxing gives the highest highs and lowest lows.

Adam Booth, who linked up with David after that Wardley TKO defeat, speaks about a rebuild of sorts with an athlete who needed to engage his legs far much more than he'd been doing and trust the work.

During this week, he hinted at similarities between Adeleye and former unified cruiserweight world champion David Haye.. not a bad first outing, ey?

Adeleye stops Dacres inside 90 seconds!

Well then. Twitchy, jittery, unpredictable... whatever you want to call it, David Adeleye made his return in a big way and Dacres didn't know what hit him there! It was a cuffing left hook he didn't see coming, off the crown of the now-former champion's head and his equilibrium was shaken to its core immediately there.

Adeleye triumphant and wasted no time reminding people of his power, having taken so much of Wardley's wild swings on Saudi shores last year. You can never count a heavyweight out, can you?

Commiserations to Dacres, who didn't really have a chance to get going there... but as someone with his flat-footed tendencies, being caught with a shot like that was always a concern.

Dacres-Adeleye R1

Very twitchy, cagey start but Adeleye targeting the body early with success as they exchange up close in the opening moments.

There's a tension ringside that only befits these big boys, heavyweights who carry concussive power and something tells me this isn't going the distance. Right on cue...

Adeleye-Dacres up next!

David Adeleye's support team are ringside in their droves and it's a big night for their man, making his return some 14 months after a damning first pro defeat by British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley in Riyadh.

Having withdrawn from the original summer date through injury, he'll be hoping for an early Christmas present against an unbeaten champion many have been underwhelmed by in previous bouts.

Back among home comforts, Adeleye will fancy his chances against a bullish Solomon Dacres, but it's all about execution here. Who will produce in this domestic duel for English heavyweight honours?