BRADFORD gained another Muay Thai champion on Saturday night as Owais Khan overcame adversity to claim the English 73kg title after a tumultuous battle against Merseyside’s Joe Swinnerton.

The bout was the classic clash of styles, pitting the stocky, marauding home fighter against the taller, more technical Khan.

Things seemed to be settling into a predictable pattern in the early stages, but Swinnerton ripped up the script when he landed a thunderous left hand towards the end of the first round that left Khan visibly shaken.

The Bradford fighter made it back to his corner on unsteady legs where he was greeted with some stern words by his coach Alex Abusin. This seemed to stir Khan into action and, although there were one or two other dangerous moments, the longer the fight went on the more he was able to find his rhythm and timing.

By the fourth round Khan’s piston-like right cross was finding its mark unerringly, whilst his right kick to the body was the perfect antidote to his aggressive, southpaw opponent.

By the time the final bell sounded, the whole arena stood up in unison to applaud what had been an absorbing contest and the large travelling army of supporters who had made the journey across the Pennines from Bradford erupted when their man was handed the verdict.

The result left several of the newly-crowned champion’s team on the verge of tears but Khan himself remained characteristically humble and composed.

“This is a win for the team,” said Khan. “I couldn’t have done this without support or the culture that Alex has created in the gym. Full respect to my opponent - he hits like a truck - but even when he caught me in the first round I didn’t panic. It’s an absolute shark tank at Abusins so I’m used to it - every time we spar we have to deal with adversity - but that just spurs us on to be better and more resilient.

“Tonight was for Alex and my team, and hopefully this will open the door for some more of them - including my brother Uzair - to have similar opportunities of their own."

Khan’s triumph was the main event of a pulsating night of fights in Runcorn. On the undercard, Khan’s Abusin’s Muay Thai team-mate Adam Hussain was involved in one of the fights of the night as he and local favourite James Ojounru went toe-to-toe for five torrid rounds.

Ojounru came out strongly pushing Hussain onto the back foot and disrupting his rhythm, but as the fight wore on the Bradford fighter grew in confidence and by the end his superior boxing and conditioning were enough to clinch a razor-thin decision from the five ringside judges.

Elsewhere, another Abusin’s Muay Thai fighter, Josie Windle, made her debut against Ailish Glover. Windle’s boxing enabled her to score regular telling blows but Glover’s relentless, clinch-heavy style kept her on the front foot for five rounds and was just enough to sway the judges.

Despite just missing out on a clean sweep of victories, the fighters’ coach Abusin was happy with the night’s work. “This isn’t boxing,” he said in the immediate aftermath of Windle’s debut performance. “There are no ‘gimme' fights and there’s definitely no ‘padding’ of records; fighters are matched competitively from the word go - and that’s what makes this sport so great.

“Adam and Josie both got matched hard but both showed that they’ve got the skills and the will to succeed and both will have learned huge lessons that will make them even stronger next time.”

Abusin has a number of fighters in his growing stable poised to compete over the coming months but for the time being his immediate focus is on savouring Khan’s success.

The former British champion added: “We obviously had a big disappointment recently when Sohail (Khan) was injured in his title shot down in Banbury, so tonight has lifted the entire team. Tonight is all about Owais though. From the minute he walked in the gym four and a half years ago he’s been laser focused.

"The dedication he and the other fighters invest into this sport is unbelievable. Him and Adam stayed in camp right through Ramadan - despite fasting - and Adam even insisted on training on Eid. Josie has been with us for years, and her growth inside and outside and outside of the ring has been mind-blowing.

“We’ve been building something special here for a long time and having another champion in our ranks just inspires everyone in the gym to keep pushing forwards.”