James McGivern hopes highlights reel KO can win him a Queensberry contract

James McGivern hopes that his knockout of the year contender can win a contract from Frank Warren.

The Queensberry chief was at ringside at the SSE Arena to see McGivern (9-0, 3KOs) stop Rashid Omar in ruthless fashion on Friday night.

McGivern cut down Omar (5-1, 1KO) in the second round of their scheduled eight-rounder.

“I knew I had to come here and perform,” McGivern said after the third stoppage win of his pro career.

“It’s a highlight reel if I ever seen one!

“The eyes watching were important eyes so I felt like I had to perform. I feel like I have done that. I just go and do what I do.

“Hopefully I’ll sign a contract and we can kick on to bigger and better things.”

‘The Natural’ did some prep work with former world champion Ricky Burns. Warren was clearly impressed with McGivern’s performance.

Now, the St George’s BC graduate wants his hometown KO to be a springboard to big nights.

McGivern likened the fight to being on trial at a football club and added: “I feel like I just scored a hat-trick and one of them was an overhead kick.”

The Belfast southpaw stunned Omar with a tidy left before following up with a cracking right that send the Welshman tumbling to the canvas. Such was the ferocity with which Omar hit the deck, referee Paul McCullagh immediately waved it off.

McGivern, who is managed by former world middleweight contender Jason Quigley, said: “The game plan was to sit down more.

“I’m up on my toes and moving a lot. I’m working with Ricky over in Scotland and we are focussed on sitting down more and throwing heavier shots. It has all worked.”