Rose stops Alcine in the 12th
British light middleweight Brian Rose (23-1-1) took a step towards elite level with a battling 12th-round stoppage of former world champion Joachim Alcine (33-4-1) in Blackpool on Saturday night.
Rose prevailed with two minutes and one second of the bout remaining to claim the vacant WBO Inter-Continential strap and will earn a decent ranking on the back of it.
Alcine had held the WBA light middleweight title but at 37 his best days were thought to be behind him.
But although Rose had the better of the early exchanges he allowed the Canadian opponent back into the fight and it was still in the balance going into the final round.
Alcine gave him the test that he wanted but it was almost a step too far. The Briton looked to assert himself early on and Alcine did not come alive until after halfway, throwing single shots and looking to tie Rose up as he came in.
The fight opened up in the ninth as the Canadian finally went on the attack.
Rose looked very weary and Alcine staggered him with a right hand and numerous follow ups before the bell came.
But the 29-year-old weathered the storm and managed to turn the fight around to the delight of the home crowd.
In round 11 Alcine applied further pressure landing his right to the head with increased frequency, but Rose countered impressively to have him flailing over the ropes towards the end of the round.
It proved to be a crucial momentium change and as Alcine sought refuge under attack in the neutral corner, a pair of left hooks left him decidedly groggy and referee Richie Davies stepped in.
"I showed him too much respect but there was a lot of pressure on me tonight, said Rose. "That next step up obviously told a little bit. I caught him with a good shot and just felt I had to keep the pressure on."
Also on the bill, Lee Selby (15-1) retained his Commonwelth featherweight title with a fifth-round stoppage victory over Australian Corey McConnell (11-1-1).
The talented Welshman will surely move on to bigger things before too long.
On a stacked card, Matty Askin (15-2) took the English cruiserweight title from China Clarke (11-1-1) with a unanimous points victory.
There were also wins for prospects Callum Smith, who enjoyed a first round win over Ruslans Pojonisevs and Tom Stalker, who won his third successive fight in the paid ranks defeating Gyorgy Mizsei Jr on points.
Other results on the card:
Scott Cardle W PTS 10 Maxi Hughes
John Quigley W DQ 4 Craig Johnson
Tommy Coyle W TKO 4 Jay Morris
Ryan Aston W PTS 6 Gilson De Jesus
Isaac Lowe W KO 2 Delroy Spencer