Jon Thaxton enjoyed a successful return to the ring in his home city, retaining the British Lightweight Title against the English Champion Scott Lawton. Stoke's Lawton kept Thaxton mostly at bay in the early rounds before the Norwich southpaw stepped up a gear. He opened a bad cut on Lawton's nose at the start of the seventh, and ended the contest with another huge right hook. Thaxton was delighted to come through a tough contest. "I had to be aggressive, change my style, Graham Everett helped me with that because Lawton's tall, he's awkward," he said. "I had to be on his chest and hurt him and keep on him, and I knew it was just a matter of time before I got him, and I got him," he added. The was Thaxton's first fight under a new contract with big-fight promoter Mick Hennessey, and the new boss was impressed with the crowd for his first event in Norwich. "Incredible support, this is a fight city and the bigger the fights get the more they're going to come and support their man because he gives great value," he said. Hennessey has even committed himself to getting international fights for Thaxton. "I consider him the best fighter in Europe at lightweight, I believe he'd do a job on the European Champion Yuri Romanov, and even the WBO champion Michael Katsidis," he said. Also on the Norwich card, Newark's Esham Pickering regained the British super bantamweight title with a solid points win over Mark Callaghan. Pickering, back in action after losing to Dublin's Bernard Dunne on points, was scored a 120-108, 120-108, 120-109 winner against the Barking fighter. Norwich heavyweight Sam Sexton enjoyed a points win over Paul King over six rounds in his fifth professional fight, while light-heavyweight Danny McIntosh enjoyed a similar win over Robert Burton over four rounds. Lowestoft's Paul Davis took out Omid Bourzo by technical knockout in the last of four rounds. | 
