Argentine Jorge Sclarandi was counted out by referee Marcus McDonnell with blood pouring from his nose in the final seconds of round three.

Sclarandi took his tumble after Reid's head accidentally caught him on the nose.

Sclarandi complained that the clash of heads had done the damage, but Reid took victory in the third defence of his title.

After the fight, Reid said he was desperate for rematch against Wales' WBO champion Joe Calzaghe.

Sclarandi was awkward and negative from the start and after landing a solid left hook early on, Reid found him hard to nail cleanly.

"It was frustrating," said Reid, who was on the undercard of the bill headlined by Audley Harrison.

"I caught him with a couple of shots early doors and I knew he would not come near me after that.

"He was cagey, he had been in with some good, experienced fighters.

"But it was disappointing for the crowd - I wanted to go a few more rounds and wear him down."

Reid had also quickly beaten his two previous challengers Roman Babaev and Soon Botes.

Reid connected with a left hook in the opening moments which sent Sclarandi bouncing into the ropes, and another left caught him off balance.

Mandatory count

The 34-year-old challenger went down and rose to take the remainder of the mandatory eight-count but clearly felt he had not been decked by a solid punch.

Sclarandi offered little aggression as Reid sought to find the big opening.

The champion flicked out his jab to that end, but suddenly the fight was over in the third after Reid threw a left and the two men clashed.

Reid himself was not completely sure what had happened in that final exchange.