The punching power of Bradford's Bobby Vanzie rescued him from the brink of disaster in an incident-packed British and Commonwealth title fight at London's Elephant & Castle Leisure Centre last night.

Vanzie produced a stunning two-fisted assault of more than 20 punches to stop his tough challenger Stephen Smith 51 seconds from the end of the ninth round.

It was the stuff true champions are made of - the ability to produce something special in adversity - and make no mistake Vanzie was in deep trouble on a number of occasions in a fight fought in a seething, hostile atmosphere.

From the first bell to the moment referee Terry O'Connor called a halt, Vanzie was the target for constant abuse. Much of it was deeply offensive and has no place in any sporting arena. And it got to Vanzie.

His tactics appeared muddled. He came out as if he wanted to destroy Smith in double-quick time and his anxiety almost proved his undoing.

In the first minute he lunged forward awkwardly and emerged from a clash of heads with blood streaming down his face.

It looked bad and Vanzie reacted by throwing punches wildly. He was clearly worried by the blood flowing into his eyes from the nick on his forehead.

Smith sensed his chance and roared on by the crowd troubled Vanzie in a frenetic opening three rounds.

The champion was often off-target as he ducked, weaved and tried to throw big shots from improbable angles, while Smith move unerringly forward behind his accurate right jab.

It seemed Vanzie wanted to brawl rather than pick off his opponent with his elusive 'Viper' style, and after a couple of warnings it came as no surprise when referee O'Connor penalised him for persistent holding. The points deduction did though seem to calm Vanzie.

By the end of the fifth round I had Smith a point ahead on my scorecard. The challenger was enjoying far more success with his punches than Vanzie's corner would have liked, but thankfully they did not carry any real power.

As the fight approached the half-way stage Vanzie began to step up his work. His jabbing was crisp and accurate while his movement remained much more fluid and elusive than Smith's.

It appeared the challenger was beginning to feel the pace in round seven as Vanzie began to enjoy far more success.

But that good work was almost undone in the eighth. Vanzie, seeing his opponent tiring, decided to attack to the body.

Early in the round he floored Smith with a low blow, bringing howls of abuse from the crowd which was almost exclusively behind the Londoner.

Once Smith had been given time to recover, Vanzie launched another attack and again floored Smith with a body shot. Vanzie thought it was fair, and most journalists at ringside shared the view, but referee O'Connor didn't.

He took Vanzie to a neutral corner and looked on the point of disqualifying him. Objects including a plastic water bottle were hurled at the ring while stewards had to stop some fans who appeared to be trying to get at Vanzie.

It was beginning to look as if it was to be a nightmare evening for the champion, but it changed in the next round. First he floored Smith with a right to the jaw, though the challenger quickly got up and persuaded the referee it was a stumble.

Vanzie knew it was his chance and a ferocious onslaught of more than 20 unanswered punches led to O'Connor stepping in to stop the contest two minutes and nine seconds into the round.

Vanzie had won a coveted Lonsdale Belt and retained his British and Commonwealth titles. It was a happy ending to a bitter and at times ugly night.

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