Nicky Cook won the title from Scotland's Alex Arthur last September

Britain's Nicky Cook lost his WBO super-featherweight title in Manchester on Saturday when he was stopped in round four by Roman Martinez.

Cook, 29, made a promising start to the fight and almost had his Puerto Rican opponent on the canvas with a fine left hook in round two.

But then an uppercut from his unbeaten rival left Cook on his back.

The Romford fighter climbed to his feet but was down again before the referee called a halt to the contest.

The first round was relatively even with Martinez testing Cook with several accurate left hooks before the champion came back in the second with a fine combination that almost floored the South American.

Cook landed with a decent right in the third and looked to be hurting Martinez with a series of body shots in the fourth.

But out of the blue Martinez landed with two quick left hand uppercuts that sent Cook to the canvas.

The 29-year-old just about beat the count but Martinez showed his ruthless streak and sent Cook to the canvas once more.

Although Cook made it to his feet, referee Dave Parris rightly called an end to the fight to claim the title.

Martinez, 26, takes his record to 23 victories with 13 knockouts and one draw.

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