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Sam Noakes stops Gianluca Ceglia after eight rounds and retains the EBU title

Sam Noakes continued his impressive rise.

The undefeated lightweight defender defended his EBU title for the first time with an eighth-round stoppage victory over Gianluca Ceglia. The relatively one-sided affair ended when Ceglia was unable to continue after the eighth round of the TNT Sports main event at York Hall in Bethnal Green, London on Friday.

Noakes (15-0, 14 KOs) won the belt in April by decision over veteran Yvan Mendy. It was the only time he lasted to the end, albeit in a 12-round shutout.

It was no surprise that he was far too advanced for Italy's Ceglia, who was making his second attempt at the EBU title.

Noakes kept Ceglia (21-5-1, 4 KOs) on his toes with his hard jab and left hooks to the body. Over the course of a few rounds, the body work paid off, slowing down the challenger, who was already showing signs of fighting spirit in the second round.

Noakes, who is also a British and Commonwealth champion, was on the defensive in the third round before storming back in the fourth, regularly covering Ceglia in the ropes.

By the sixth round, Noakes, who had started as the 1/25 favourite, had fully established his dominance and it seemed only a matter of time as Ceglia was looking tired. Although it looked like the Italian was within his grasp, Noakes kept trying but never really made his mark.

The fight continued into the seventh and eighth rounds before Ceglia returned to his corner inconsolable with visible injuries to his right eye. He had had enough and his corner informed the referee, who stopped the fight.

Noakes, his coach Alan Smith and manager Francis Warren then spoke to TNT Sports.

“I think his experience showed. It was a tougher fight than I thought it would be but they were good rounds,” Noakes said. “He was pretty tough. It was a good learning fight because everyone talks about these big guys but I've only had 15 fights. I know I still have a lot to learn. I'm not at my best yet and fights like this will take me further.”

His coach Smith said it was a solid rather than spectacular performance.

“[Ceglia’s] “very tough and very resilient, he's been through a lot,” said the experienced trainer. “You can't look amazing every time, last time he looked great, this time he did what he had to do against the mandatory challenger. This is another step closer to the world title.”

This brought Warren into play, who has been providing Noakes with expert guidance so far.

“Rounds like tonight will prove invaluable when the opportunity presents itself,” said Warren. “Sam is the best lightweight in Europe and he proved it against a very tough man.”

“We take each fight as it comes. Of course there are names we want to chase, but the opportunities will present themselves. He is the WBO world champion and Denys Berinchyk holds the world title, so this seems like the natural path.”

As a main supporter, Masood Abdulah stopped George Stewart towards the end of the 12th round to win the vacant Commonwealth featherweight title.

The two fought an exciting battle from start to finish. Abdulah (11-0, 8 KOs) injured Stewart (7-1, 1 KO) and forced the fight to be stopped in the final seconds.

He later challenged British champion Nathaniel Collins, who had vacated the Commonwealth title, as his next opponent.

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