Boxing: Glenn Foot is new English champion after great win in London over Philip Bowes

Glenn Foot kisses the English championship belt after beating Philip Bowes in London

The Sunderland boxer defeated Londoner Philip Bowes on a unanimous points decision at the world-famous York Hall in the capital's Eastend.

Foot was a 95-93 winner on all three judges scorecards after a titanic 10-round tussle for the vacant belt.

Bowes, from Leytonstone, just a long right hook from the Bethnal Green was strongly fancied at his home venue where he had won 12 of his 15 career victories.

But he was forced to concede second best to the relentless Marley Pots crowd favourite who took control from the middle rounds and refused to take a backward step.

Coach David Binns admitted a slow start to camp had him concerned but he was thrilled with the way the 29-year-old approached the fight AND won it.

"Three weeks ago, I wasn't that confident about coming down here," he said. "But Glenn picked things up and turned it around.

"I still don't think that was the best of Glenn Foot tonight, but he is a warrior.

"He's come down to that kid's backyard and beaten an awkward in-form southpaw."

It always looked an intriguing clash of styles between the London left-hander, known as 'Quicksilver' and the Wearsider, nicknamed 'Hammer'.

But the early stages were an ugly mess, with constant holding.

Bowes landed what few clean blows were thrown in the first and fourth rounds while the third round saw both combatants duducted a pooint by overworked referee Bob

Williams.

This reporter had Foot trailing moving into the fifth but what is the expression 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going'?

And they come no tougher than the one-time Prizefighter champ who was told by surgeons he would never box again after a machete attack.

The fifth was Foot's best round so far, with a good left and two crisp rights getting through.

Bowes landed one eye-catching right in round six but the session belonged to Glenn whose aggression was starting to come to bear.

A right-left-right from Foot was the highlight of a dominant seventh and the following two rounds were just as

good as he piled forward at will.

Philip tried to find away back in the last but by that stage he appeared to be chasing the fight.

Foot was in no doubt at the final bell, nor his dfans on the balcony who chanted "Hammer, Hammer, Hammer" but it he was in the hands of the judges.

All three backed Foot, by the same scoreline, sparking wild celebrations.