Sunderland’s Kirk Goodings is the new English lightweight champion after coming through a tremendous ten-round tussle against Middlesbrough’s Paul Truscott to claim the vacant title.

On Saturday evening at Houghton-le-Spring’s Rainton Meadows Arena, Goodings emerged a unanimous points victor over his North East rival, with the judges’ wide scores of 99-91, 99-91 and 99-92 not truly reflecting the intensity of the battle.

Truscott, 27, a former Commonwealth featherweight champion, had only lost four of his 23 previous fights and entered the contest the more experienced man.  Goodings, 24, with nine wins from 10 outings, was banking on being the fresher man – and so it proved.