Trainer delighted by Fitzy's performance

The 25-year-old ace delighted a feverish home crowd at the Guild Hall by producing a dominant display to overwhelm Russian opponent Andrej Cepur.

The reigning Commonwealth Games champion produced a barrage of fierce blows which culminated in the referee bringing an end to the super welterweight contest in the fourth round.

The victory saw Fitzgerald pick up his first belt in the paid ranks – the International Classic Challenge title – which was presented to him in the ring by fellow Jennings Gym stablemate Matty Askin.

Jennings – who has trained the former Larches and Savick ABC star since last year – was suitably impressed with what he saw from his man.

“The kid who Scott fought was a very tough lad,” said Jennings, who is a former British welterweight champion and also once fought for the world title in New York.

“I think his head was made of concrete because he was taking some very big shots.

“I was very happy with Scott’s performance.

“There are still things to work on, but I could see him practising things that we had been working on in the gym.

“In Scott’s last fight against Adam Jones he was being caught with some bad shots; I know the lad on Saturday was not throwing much, but you could see his defence.

“He was moving away after he had thrown his shots – he was nice and tight.

“These are the type of things that we have been working on, but now we are going to step it up.

“We know what we need to do with Scott, he knows what he needs to do. He’s a good fighter and he’s going to go far.”

Meanwhile, earlier in the night, Preston’s Ben Swarbrick, who also trains at Jennings Gym, was involved in a terrific bantamweight battle with Craig Derbyshire, which ended in a draw.

The 28-year-old suffered a brutal cut to his nose, which later required several stitches, after a head clash early in the first round.

Swarbrick battled on gamely and looked to have claimed a tight victory only for the judge to call the four-round fight even.

“I was disappointed to draw,” said Swarbrick, who now has a win and a draw on his record.

“I lost the third with some silly mistakes , but I felt I used my jab well in the final round to pinch it 3-1 but it was not to be.”