Carl Frampton knocked out Kris Hughes in the seventh round to retain his Commonwealth super-bantamweight title in York.
The Northern Irishman needed to be persistent against his opponent, who was able to take a number of hits throughout.
The bout was eventually stopped when Frampton landed a devastating right hand in round seven.
"He was very very tough, he took a lot of hard shots from the start," the champion told Sky Sports News. "After about two rounds I was sinking some body shots into him but he stood up to it well.
"It took something spectacular to get rid of him and I'm happy with the performance."