Zach Parker is one of British boxing’s best secrets, but the former British super-middleweight champion is now in line for a world title shot after battering Rohan Murdock, of Australia, to defeat in the eleventh round on the undercard of the Scott Quigg-Jono Carroll fight at Manchester Arena.

In a clash of the top two in the WBO’s super-middleweight rankings, much of the action was tight and at close quarters, but Parker generally had the extra gear, often beating the Australian to the punch and able to switch things up when needed.

While the WBO title is due to be on the line on May 2 when Saul “Canelo” Alvarez is expected to be facing Saunders, it is difficult to imagine that the winner of that would have much of an interest in facing Parker. More likely, if Saunders does get his shot at Canelo, Parker will box for a vacant version of the title somewhere down the line.

“I want the world-title shot as soon as possible,” Parker said. “I should be No 1 now and mandatory for a world title. If Billy Joe hasn’t got the Canelo fight, I’m ready.”

Parker, 25, who was extending his unbeaten record to 19 fights, has a bit of a look of Carl Froch about him, as he carries his lead hand low and is keen to land power shots as soon as possible. He also switches between orthodox and southpaw regularly, which tends to throw a seed of doubt into opponents thinking on mounting an attack,

Murdock looked keen to get into a brawl, but Parker dominated the early rounds by simply being first to the punch.

By the fourth round, the pair were exchanging big punches, Parker landed a good uppercut, which Murdock rode and fired back with two hard rights. The success seemed to inspire Murdock, who began to dance around out of range, tempting Parker forward.

When Parker used his jab, he looked good, but at other time he seemed ponderous, yet the Derby boxer decided to plant his feet and trade in the sixth round, Parker doing well when he made room and clubbed home right and left hooks.

Through the seventh and eighth rounds, Parker was starting to find some rhythm, while Murdock, tended to be a bit slow at pulling the trigger, particularly when Parker turned southpaw.

Murdock had a good round in the ninth, when he was busier, but Parker stepped up a gear in the tenth and, suddenly the Australian was flagging.

In the eleventh round, Murdock pushed forward, looking for an opening, but when he stepped into range, he tended to be punished. With 20 seconds left in the round, Parker backed Murdock into the ropes, with a stunning left and right hook.

With Murdock becoming ragged, Parker seized his opportunity, shrugging off the Australian’s attempts to get close and then landing a crushing overhand left that dropped Murdock on his back. He was up at five, but after referee Phil Edwards counted to eight and asked Murdock to walk forward, he waved it off. The official time was 2.58 of the eleventh.

“I felt a bit flat at first, but I came on later in the fight and got a good stoppage in the end,” Parker said. “I thought he was going to come straight forward, but I was being the aggressor in the fight. My boxing abilities did it in the end instead of trying to fight too much.”