Dean Sutherland’s Commonwealth title bid ended in despair after he was floored in the fifth round by Louis Greene.
The Aberdonian went into the contest for the vacant super-welterweight belt against the 30-year-old from Kent with a perfect record from 13 bouts, while Greene had won 14 of his 17 previous fights with his three losses all coming in title fights.
Sutherland had stepped up a weight division to take the fight which he hoped would open doors to the next level of the British boxing scene.
He was roared into the ring by a packed Aberdeen Beach Ballroom crowd and looked calm and composed as he eased through the opening round.
But Greene upped the ante towards the end of the second round, catching Sutherland with a flurry of hits.
Sutherland looked to have recovered with some piercing body shots hurting Greene in the third before he started to find his range in the fourth.
But disaster struck 56 seconds into the fifth round when Sutherland wobbled onto the ropes after being caught with a blistering right before Greene ended the contest with a left upper cut as Sutherland fell to the canvas in front of a stunned crowd.
Greene said: “I’m absolutely over the moon with the victory.
“It is my third fight this year and second fight away from home.
“I fought over in Poland (knocking out previously unbeaten Tomasz Nowicki) and then I came here.
“The atmosphere was immense.
“It was incredible and I’d advise any other fighter to come here and experience it.
“It was unbelievable to fight in front of that crowd.
“It was hostile but the respect they showed afterwards was great.
“Dean is a classy boxer and he’ll come back stronger.”
Stuart lands Scottish title
Earlier in the night there was some success for the home crowd to enjoy as Macduff’s Billy Stuart impressed on his way to claiming the vacant Scottish super-bantamweight title.
The Butcher, who was piped into the arena by Portsoy Pipe Band, never looked back after dominating the opening round, leaving his opponent Gary Ducie with a nasty cut above his right eye after being caught with a powerful left.
Some shuddering left hooks in the second tested Ducie’s resilience with the Cambuslang fighter bravely hanging on.
But he was no match for Stuart’s superior pace and Ducie took a count of nine after being knocked down after being caught with a massive right in the sixth. When Stuart continued the punishment with a flurry of shots and nothing coming back, referee Kevin Pringle stopped the contest with only a second of the sixth round remaining.
Stuart, 24, said: “I’m buzzing about the win although I expected to do it.
“That isn’t being big-headed – I was just confident I would get the job done.
“I had more experience but fair play to him – he stepped up to the plate to fight for the title.
“I’m now the Scottish champion and that means a lot.
“As an amateur I won seven national titles in a row so I have always wanted to win a Scottish title as a professional.
“It is something I have ticked off my bucket list but I will be pushing on for bigger things now.”
A winning start for McPherson
Gregor McPherson also had a night to remember.
The former Aberdeen FC youth player tasted victory on his professional debut.
The 18-year-old received an amazing reception as he entered the arena to face Logan Paling from Birmingham.
Paling proved to be a tricky opponent for the debutant but McPherson landed some strong combinations on his way to a 39-37 victory in the four-round contest.
McPherson said: “I am over the moon. That was my first fight and that was not a journeyman fighter.
“That was his fourth fight and it was a really good fight for me.
“I took a risk as he was a game opponent and I had to use my skill to come out on top.
“I was getting tired towards the end but I kept it together, stuck to my jab and got the job done.”
In the opening fight of the night, Dubliner Declan Geraghty eased to a 40-36 points win against Costa Rican Berman Sanchez.
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