Joshua Buatsi had the final word in his feud with Willy Hutchinson as he dropped the Scotsman twice to seal a points win at Wembley Stadium.
Buatsi settled the heated rivalry as he floored Hutchinson in the sixth and ninth rounds to secure victory with scores of 117-108 and 115-110 to earn the WBO interim light-heavyweight title on the Joshua vs Dubois undercard, despite one judge bizarrely scoring it 113-112 for Hutchinson.
Hutchinson was quick to settle in the opening round, cuffing Buatsi with quick hooks before he unloaded a stiff right hand.
Buatsi responded well in the second with stinging jabs and crunching body shots, while both men traded hurtful punches to the ribs in the third round.
Buatsi troubled Hutchinson with spiteful body shots
An overhand right from Buatsi briefly forced Hutchinson into the ropes in the fourth and blood dripped from the Scot’s right eye in the fifth, a sign of a spiteful contest.
Buatsi stepped up his brutal assault near the end of the sixth, sending Hutchinson to the canvas with a vicious combination and the bell prevented a follow-up assault.
Hutchinson defiantly stood firm in the seventh, although he was docked a point for use of the head, and Buatsi kept his composure in the eighth as he pumped out precise punches.
A burst of punches from Hutchinson at the start of the ninth drew a ruthless response from Buatsi who inflicted another knockdown with a perfectly-placed body shot.
In the closing rounds, Buatsi continued to punish his stubborn opponent, and celebrated victory after a brief moment of concern when the scorecards were read out.
On the same bill, Anthony Cacace sealed a unanimous-decision win after a spirited effort from former world champion Josh Warrington.
Anthony Cacace was forced to work hard for a win over Josh Warrington
Cacace’s IBF super-featherweight belt was not at stake due to a ruling from the governing body, but the Belfast man retained his lesser-regarded IBO belt with scores of 118-110, 117-111 and 117-111.
The scores were harsh on Warrington, who maintained a high work-rate throughout, but the judges preferred the cleaner punches from Cacace, who landed his left hand repeatedly in the closing rounds.
Josh Kelly had to withstand a late onslaught from Ishmael Davis
Josh Kelly had to survive a torrid final round before closing out a majority-decision victory over late replacement opponent Ishmael Davis, who stepped in to take the fight after Liam Smith was ruled out with a virus.
Kelly was bloodied and forced to backpedal after receiving a string of uppercuts as Davis desperately searched for a late stoppage.
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Kelly said he was in control against Davis until he was cut in the final round and admitted the close scorecards came as a shock
But Kelly had just enough over the previous 11 rounds, delivering crisp counters off the back foot to earn scores of 115-113 and 115-114 from the judges, while the third official scored it a 114-114 draw.
There was an upset in the opening bout of the night as Josh Padley dropped and defeated Mark Chamberlain by unanimous decision.
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Josh Padley says he will become a full-time boxer and wants the biggest fights next after ending Mark Chamberlain’s unbeaten record at Wembley
Padley unloaded a crisp left hook in the eighth round to floor Chamberlain, who was also docked a point after repeated infringements.
All three judges scored it for Padley with tallies of 95-93, 96-92 and 96-92 and Chamberlain’s 16-fight unbeaten record came to a surprise halt.
Anthony Joshua’s heavyweight showdown with Daniel Dubois takes place on Saturday September 21 live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Joshua v Dubois now!