Tim Tszyu has continued his relentless pursuit of world-title glory with an emphatic win over Dennis Hogan in their Steel City Showdown in Newcastle.
Hogan's camp threw in the towel midway through the fifth round after the Irishman could no longer withstand a brutal assault from Tszyu.
The victory extended the 26-year-old's undefeated record to 18 wins as he eyes a shot at the super welterweight world title.
Tszyu is the WBO's No.1-ranked challenger and is awaiting a crack at the winner of a likely battle between American Jermell Charlo and Argentina's Brian Castano.
The fight was in doubt right until the combatants entered the ring on Wednesday night.
In a sensation, Irishman Dennis Hogan had refused to fight because of a sponsorship stand-off.
Hogan was adamant all week that unless he was allowed to wear his betting agency sponsor's name on his shorts he would not enter the ring.
With the fight heavily sponsored by a rival bookmaking organisation, promoters had hoped to resolve the issue but Hogan maintained the fight would not go ahead if he could not publicly support his sponsor.
