Josh Burnham made a triumphant start to his professional career with a unanimous points victory over Rob Brown in Chigwell.
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Burnham, 22, made his intentions clear from the first bell at the Prince Regent Hotel, landing some powerful blows on his opponent who is in the Army.
To his credit, Brown took his punishment and stayed on his feet throughout, although he was left wobbling several times against Burnham who weighed in at 11st 5lbs.
Burnham was constantly on the front foot, mixing body shots with punches to the head and his arm was held aloft by the referee at the end of the fourth round.
"I won every round comfortably,” said Burnham. “I threw everything I had at him but he kept coming back. He was a very tough opponent, with a granite chin.
"He caught me with about three punches overall but I’ve got a lot of respect for anyone who steps into the ring."
Burnham, who lives in Bushey, is a former under-16 Junior national light middleweight champion. He said: “It’s the first time I’ve had my hands professionally wrapped and used professional gloves. I felt a great buzz getting into the ring.
"My fitness levels were good. I started fast but slowed down a little towards the end. I’d trained hard for the fight and all my hard work paid off.
"I couldn’t have asked for a better night against a really durable opponent."
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