A superb clash of light heavyweight champions took place last night at the Mountbatten Centre in Portsmouth, England as British titlist Tony Oakey and Commonwealth king Dean Francis went at it tooth and nail on a Frank Maloney promotion.

Francis dominated the first round as he picked off the always come-forward Oakey but the local Portsmouth battler found his focus in the second behind his legendary high workrate.

Oakey managed to cut Francis badly around the left eye and the bridge of the nose and continued to surge forth behind a two-fisted assault that kept the big punching Commonwealth Champion on the defensive.

By the fifth, the light hitting but persistent efforts of Oakey looked to have taken it's toll on Francis as the bigger man from Basingstoke was becoming unglued and unable to keep the British Champion off.

But a desperate Francis finds range with the right hand in the sixth and rips Oakey with shots that slow the stocky local man down. Oakey shakes off the punishment over the seventh and eighth frames but is finding it harder to land, although he does manage to cut Francis around the right eye.

By the ninth, Oakey's high octane style has caught up with him and he's canvassed by a three punch Francis combo. The Portsmouth pocket battleship beats the count but must be saved by the referee during the follow up shelling by Francis and the action is called off at 2:47 of the ninth round.

Dean Francis improves to 30-3 (24) and is now the reigning British and Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Champion while Tony Oakey, 25-3-1 (7), loses for the first time in three years.

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