MANCHESTER boxers Mark Thompson both stepped up their pursuit of domestic titles next year with impressive wins in Wigan.

Heywood lad Thompson, aiming at either a British or Commonwealth belt, eased through the gears in the seventh round of his clash with durable Glaswegian before applying a stunning finish.

And McDonagh, granted the graveyard shift as the Sky TV technicians were clearing up their equipment, entertained the fans who remained behind with a typically stylish points win over Michael Monaghan.

Welterweight Thompson, with one eye on the 12-rounders he hopes to be tackling soon, paced himself beautifully, and looked fit and sharp against Dickson, a quarter-finalist in the recent Prizefighter contest on Sky.

He launches a stunning counter-attack off the ropes in the second round which had Dickson reeling backwards and eventually dumped on the seat of his pants with a great straight one-two.

But Thompson refused to rush his work and when it reached the seventh he simply upped the pressure and had Dickson in trouble again. He finished it with a lovely left hook to the body which dropped Dickson - he rose but his heart and fight had gone and as Thompson pounced the referee was in quickly to call it off.

McDonagh, from Blackley, also has a British title shot in mind, and he was presented with the perfect opportunity to look good, with Mongahan in the opposite corner.

The Lincoln fighter is brave and strong, which suited "Storm Boy" down to the ground. He made Monaghan miss, and then made him pay, time after time and by the end was playing to the crowd as he toom his opponent apart.

Rising Bury super-bantamweight Scott Quigg, being carefully nurtured at Brian Hughes' Collyhurst and Moston gym, again impressed, against Ghana's Simali Badu.

The former Thai boxer took his pro record to ten straight wins by stopping Badu after two mins 32 secs of the first round. The referee was possibly a tad quick to step in as Quigg nailed his man against the ropes with a swift combination, but Quigg at least had a little time to show what he can do.

Ancoats newcomer Karl Place made it two wins from two with a busy, raw-edged performance to take every round against veteran journeyman Carl Allen.

In the bill-topper, Bristol's Lee Haskins took the British super-flyweight title from Doncaster fighter Andy Bell with a unanimous points verdict in a messy affair.

Other results: Peter Jones (Liverpool) bt John Greaves (East Ham) pts; Paul Edwards (Liverpool) bt Delroy Spencer (Walsall) pts; Mark Moran (Liverpool) by Youssef Al-Hamidi (Dewsbury) pts; Tony Quigley bt Nathan King (Mountain Ash) retd 4; Akaash Bhatia (Wembley) bt Marc Callaghan (Dagenham) KO2; John Lewis Dickinson (Newcastle) bt Paul Bonson (Featherstone) pts.

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