Lewis Crocker: Belfast welterweight stops Artem Haroyan to retain WBO European title

Lewis Crocker successfully defended his WBO European welterweight title with an impressive seventh-round victory over Artem Haroyan at the Ulster Hall.

The Belfast fighter dropped his Armenian opponent in the sixth round with a left-hook and finished him with a strong body shot in the seventh.

Haroyan had fought bravely throughout but was counted out 47 seconds into the seventh round.

The win in his home city took Crocker's career record to 14-0.

He was fighting in Belfast for the first time since last February, as the main attraction on an undercard of local talent, with Padraig McGrory defeating Celso Neves and Sean McComb beating Ronnie Clark.

Crocker was on the front foot and dictating the pace of the fight early on, landing a number of strong body shots and good exchanges during the opening rounds.

While Crocker was always on top, Haroyan refused to make it easy for him and continually found a good response each time the taller fighter put him under pressure.

Patience was key for the Belfast man, though, and it paid off when a clean left hook from him in round six saw Haroyan go down before getting up after a count of eight.

Crocker's win was looking inevitable from that stage and he finished the job in the following round with a good combination to the body which delivered the victory.

"That was electric to have fans back in my home city, that was what dreams are made of," Crocker told iFL TV after the fight.

"I'm buzzing. I had to be patient but I felt great and my fitness was brilliant. I feel that if anyone is going to go toe-to-toe with me then they are going to get beaten."