Danny Dignum stops brave Alfredo Meli to register second Irish scalp

Alfredo Meli (17(5)-1(1) flirted with dethroning WBO European king Danny Dignum (13(7)-0) in Brentwood tonight.

‘Fredo’ showed skill and unbreakable heart in the tough contest which kept viewers on the edge of their seats for its entirety.

A great start from Dignum handed him the first round before Fredo took the next two rounds on the spin whilst landing good shots and pushing the favorite back.

The same story could be told for the fourth round when Fredo came out jabbing nicely and kept the powerful Dignum away in the opening part of the round.

Meli kept on making a nuisance of himself constantly being in the face of Dignum and frustrating him at times.

It seemed the fight was on course for a points outcome but the power of Dignum made the difference when he dropped Meli in the seventh with a sickening body shot. That punch nearly spelled the end for the Belfast man but he recovered nicely and battled hard to the end of the round.

By the time the eight was over it was like watching the seventh round on repeat, a bright start from Meli before another body shot from the Essex man dropped the full time mechanic again.

The fight was ultimately stopped in the ninth round after the towel was thrown in by the Meli corner.

Dignum claims another scalp from our shores and proves himself as a real nuisance for anyone that steps in the ring with him.  

As for Meli, a brave performance made for a fantastic fight and a competitive one at that, a rematch with Conrad Cummings makes sense with both men coming off a loss to Dignum and having unfinished business after their draw in late 2015.

The fight would still do big numbers and both men sell tickets, with them both signed to MTK Global it would be easy to make and would be an absolute cracker like the first!