There were two shows of note last night, at University Arena in Limerick, Ireland and one Merseyside at the Olympia in Liverpool, England.

At Limerick, local hero Andy Lee, 16-1 (13), returned home after a disastrous first loss, to Brian Vera in America last March, and regained his form by dramatically stopping Philadelphia boxer Willie "The Gladiator" Gibbs, 20-4 (16), at the end of the tenth and final round of their bout.

Lee put his height advantage and southpaw stance to good use, keeping the American at arm's length for most of the night and rattling off crisp combinations that generally found their mark.

The veteran Gibbs tried to make up what was clearly becoming a ever widening points gap by winging big shots but his faulty defense led to a near knockout loss in the middle rounds as he was battered pillar to post by the Irishman.

Gibbs survived the ordeal and simply couldn't get to Lee until the last round when he connected with over rights that had the Limerick lad in deep water. A referee telling off of Gibbs for use of the head gave Lee time to clear the cobwebs and he was soon hammering Gibbs to the canvas. More...

Andy Lee and Willie Gibbs will weigh in for this Saturday's Ladbrokes.com Fight Night today in Limerick prior to their final pre fight press conference.

Also on hand will be all the undercard boxers including the unbeaten Paul McCloskey and English Champion Nigel Wright, who square off in the chief support bout at the University Arena on Saturday night. More...