Scott McHugh took the scalp of a bareknuckle boxing legend in London.
The Leeds fighter took the British bantamweight title off Sean George with a majority points win at London’s O2 Arena.

George is in bareknuckle boxing’s Hall of Fame and though 38, he is far from finished.

The Welshman looked as good as ever when outboxing Tony Lafferty in January, but McHugh produced a career-best performance to beat him.

The decisive moment came in the fourth when McHugh landed a beautifully-timed right-hand counter – the best punch of a top-quality fight – to make George’s knee touch the canvas for a split second.

The referee gave George a count and that may have been the difference between the two fighters on the judges’ scorecards.

McHugh beamed afterward: “I have beaten one of the best in the game. I have always looked up to Sean and now I’ve beaten him.

“I want the world title next.”

That would mean a match with Barrie Jones.

The Welshman is regarded as one of the sport’s top pound-for-pound fighters after he beat Jimmy Sweeney earlier this year and McHugh proved he has the skills to compete with the best by outboxing George.

There wasn’t too much between them in any of the rounds, but McHugh landed enough jabs and well-disguised rights to get the decision.