Croydon's Gareth Gardner announced his arrival in the professional ranks on Saturday night with a dominant points victory over Northern Ireland's Marty Kayes.
The undefeated three-weight Queensbury Boxing League champion was making his professional debut on the inaugural Queensbury "History in the Making" event at the Millennium Arena in West Sussex.
From the opening bell of the four-round welterweight contest, Gardner looked in great condition as he went to work on Kayes, unloading flashy combinations with his double left hook landing with regularity.
Kayes, a 40-year-old boxing veteran, had promised to wreck Gardner's debut and send his army of fans home disappointed.
However, his pre-fight hype had little substance as the sheer volume of punches thrown at him by Gardner left precious little room for him to get his own shots off.
Gardner did not have the contest all his own way as little flurries from the visitor did find their target as Kayes tried to push the action.
But at the final bell, there little doubt who the winner was with the Croydon crowd pleaser taking the decision by a landslide victory.
Gardner said: “He was tough and he made things awkward for me, but we got there and I’m so proud to add the Gardner name up there in pro boxing.
“I felt a bit nervous coming in to this fight even though I’ve boxed in the league at the same venue many times, but with this being my pro debut I guess that is to be expected.
“I felt a bit rusty in there as its been seven months since my last fight, but this is just the start, and I’m going to be back in the gym next week and I’m already looking forward to the next one in September.”
He added: “I’d like to say a huge tanks to my dad Will for getting me this far and to Chris, John and everyone at Warriors Gym, and of course all the fans that were there for me on the night.”
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