Photo Gallery: Wayne Elcock vs Matthew Macklin

Last Saturday at the Aston Events Center in Birmingham, Wayne Elcock put his British middleweight crown on the line against challenger Matthew Macklin in a battle of local fighters.

Photographer Justin McKie was ringside to capture the action in the short, but action packed "Battle of Brum".

Photos © Justin McKie

Click on the photos to enlarge.

This is challenger Matthew Macklin's second attempt at a British Title. In September of 2006, he was stopped by Jamie Moore in a bid to win the junior middleweight belt. Since then he's racked off 6 straight victories and comes into the bout with a record of 24 wins against 2 defeats.

Champion, Wayne Elcock, at age 35, almost nine years older than his rival, claimed the title with a unanimous decision over Howard Eastman in September of 2007. He comes into the bout with a record of 19 wins and 3 defeats, and has defended the crown once with a win over Darren McDermott. That bout ended prematurely after a clash of heads in the second round prevented the challenger from continuing. In between those outings, Elcock was stopped in the fifth round by Germany's Arthur Abraham in a bid for the IBF title.

The opening two rounds were fought at a quick pace, and featured numerous solid exchanges as neither fighter was afraid to mix it up.

Early in the third round, Macklin landed a crunching right hand, that badly shook Elcock. The aggressive challenger was quick to follow up his advantage with a two handed blitz that sent the champion staggering into the corner.

After being sent crashing to the canvas, a dazed Elcock got to his feet and indicated he was okay to continue, but a follow up barrage left referee Victor Loughlin with no choice but to call an end to the contest.

The newly crowned British Middleweight champion, Matthew Macklin celebrates his emphatic victory.