Dean Francis stopped Tony Oakey in the ninth round to become the new British light-heavyweight champion.

Title-holder Oakey, fighting in front of his home fans in Portsmouth, had the better of the early exchanges, leaving Francis with a cut above his left eye.

But the Basingstoke boxer worked his way back into the fight, taking control as Oakey's work-rate began to slow.

He dropped the champion in the ninth and followed up with a flurry of punches that saw the ref stop the bout.