At the Bell Centre in boxing mad Montreal last night, Jean Pascal put his WBC light heavyweight belt at risk for the first time and came away with victory against seasoned warhorse Silvio Branco.

A pro since 1988, ex-WBA and European champ Branco went after the much younger Pascal early on but had difficulty with the good footwork and swift reflexes of the local Montreal man, who cut the Italian in the third.

The bout was a cautious affair early on but as both began to tire and settle in, the action increased with Pascal beginning to target the body and Branco looking for the jab, right hand combination.

By the seventh, 43 year old Branco had begin to run out of steam and was dropped in what could have been largely a push or even a bid to gain a breather, although it was ruled a knockdown.

Branco ran out of solutions to the problems posed by the 26 year old champion by the tenth and was gunned down to the canvas by an overhand right from Pascal.

The Civitavecchia resident beat the count but went to the floor again amid Pascal's followup assault, prompting Branco's corner to throw in the towel at 2:19 of the tenth frame.

Jean Pascal retains the WBC title, improving to 24-1 (16), while Branco's record now stands at 59-10-2 (36), after participating in his sixth major world title bout.

In the co-main event, local super middle Adonis Stevenson, 13-0 (10), returned to the ring for the first time in 20 months after a car accident and retained his WBC International crown with a fifth round finishing of Commonwealth/WBC Cabofe king Jermain Mackey, 18-4 (14), of the Bahamas in a battle of southpaws.

Also on the bill, former IBF middleweight title challenger Sebastien Demers, 29-2 (11), won his fourth in a row by crushing 40 year old American veteran Jose Spearman, 27-16-5 (11), in the very first round.

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Boxing News Tags: Adonis Stevenson, Boxing Results, Jean Pascal, Jermain Mackey, Jose Spearman, Sebastien Demers, Silvio Branco