Gavin McDonnell eases through return to The Dome

The former two time world title challenger stopped Nathan Kirk in seven rounds to ensure there were no bumps in the road in his bid for a future European featherweight title fight.

Perhaps his mandatory challenger status weighed a little heavy on the Doncaster fighter’s mind in the early stages as he looked a little tentative and unwilling to engage too much.

His quality and physical dominance however kept him in full control against opponent Kirk who was out of his depth. That was even before the Nottingham fighter appeared to damage his shoulder in the second round.

Once McDonnell grew in confidence and was encouraged, he began to string shots together with little coming back.

He overwhelmed Kirk in the seventh leading to referee Darren Sarginson stepping in. A call for a European title fight is expected soon.

Another fighter on course for another major title opportunity is Jason Cunningham who coasted through one of the most one-sided contests possible.

The former two-weight Commonwealth champion dominated all six rounds against Adam Hutchinson.

Cunningham remained in second gear throughout, showing excellent accuracy against an overwhelmed opponent.

A score of 60-54 barely did justice to the dominance on show. Cunningham is set to be called as the mandatory challenger for Brad Foster’s British super bantamweight title.

Swallownest fighter Sonny Price won every round against Mosborough’s Paul Scaife to stretch his career to 8-0.

Doncaster’s Lewis Booth channelled his frustration at missing out on a Central Area title fight by cruising past journeyman Fonz Alexander.

Booth had Alexander down in the final round, giving him a deserved score of 60-53.

And fellow Doncaster fighter Jack Roberts put in a controlled performance to move to 3-0 with victory over Daryl Pearce.