Apr 20 2013 - Brian Rose vs Joachim Alcine

Helped through some difficult moments by a hometown crowd, Rose prevailed with two minutes and one second of the bout remaining to claim the vacant WBO Inter-Continental strap.
A shot at the organisation's full champion Zaurbek Baysangurov is the 28-year-old's ultimate goal, but he may have to overcome sterner tests than Alcine.

The 37-year-old Haitian-born Canadian dropped back down to 154lbs for this contest having been halted in a round by Matthew Macklin last time out and his days at the top level appear to be over.

Rose, who moved to a professional record of 23 wins and one defeat, came off second best in the battle of the jabs in the first couple of rounds but a solid left to the body in the third had Alcine (33-4, one draw) gasping with his early momentum halted.

A right uppercut to the chin from close quarters marked Rose's best work of four and the fifth round saw the home favourite controlling centre ring and landing frequently.

Alcine poured on aggression through the middle rounds to stay in the contest, although some wildly off-target right-hooks demonstrated fatigue.

Round nine was a thriller - Rose unloading in the neutral corner in search of the finish before Alcine regained his composure with a solid right uppercut and a left hook downstairs that forced his opponent to hold.

Buoyed by this success, Alcine applied further pressure - landing his right to the head with increased frequency - but Rose countered impressively to have him flailing over the ropes towards the end of 11.

It proved to be a crucial momentum change and, as Alcine sought refuge under attack in the neutral corner, a pair of left-hooks left him decidedly groggy and referee Richie Davies stepped in.