Scottish boxers Scott Forrest, Sam Hickey score KO wins in Sheffield 

Scottish cruiserweight Scott Forrest secured a devastating knockout over Deevorn Miller Saturday on the undercard of Callum Simpson vs. Steed Woodall.

The fight was halted by referee Darren Sarginson at 1 minute, 50 seconds of the second round at Park Community Arena in Sheffield, England. The 30-year-old Forrest of Edinburgh, Scotland improves to 7-0 (4 KOs) while Miller, 29, of London drops to 8-3 (6 KOs).

It was Miller who started the contest the better of the two and seemed to be boxing well until Forrest landed a hard right hand with 30 seconds to go. Miller’s legs betrayed him as he stumbled to the ground but he picked himself up quickly and saw out the remaining few seconds. Miller again had success in the second but a quick counter left hook followed by a right hand from Forrest put Miller flat on his back. Miller again tried to return to his feet but his legs were not underneath him, which prompted the stoppage.

Another Scottish prospect, Sam Hickey, impressed earlier in the night in just his second fight as a professional, stopping Lewis Howells in one round. Hickey, the now 2-0 (1 KO) middleweight, landed a sickening left to the body that caused Howells (3-2) to sink to his knees early in the round. The Welshman did well to beat the count but was dropped by the same shot just a few moments later. He again rose to his feet and it seemed like he was going to see out the round but Hickey again found a home for his left to the body. Howells fell to the floor in agony but bravely climbed to his feet. His corner had seen enough and threw in the towel. Referee Michael Alexander waved off the action with a second left of Round 1.

The light heavyweight Billy Deniz narrowly defeated Mickey Ellison in his first real test as a professional. Deniz, now 13-0 (5 KOs), struggled at first with the long arms of Ellison (15-8, 5 KOs) but seemed to figure out his opponent as the fight went on. Deniz was the flashier of the two, landing the harder shots, while Ellison’s work from range made it a difficult contest to score. Referee Darren Sarginson awarded the victory to Deniz by a score of 77-76.

Mauro Silva, now 7-0 (3 KOs), picked up a hard fought win against Emmanuel Zion (6-3, 0 KOs) over six rounds. The fight was highly competitive and Silva was made to work in every round by the tough Zion. The Mancunian middleweight was awarded a 59-56 points victory by referee Michael Alexander.

Before then, the lightweight Ellis Price (2-0, 1 KO) made short work of his opponent Liam Fitzmaurice (0-1, 0 KOs) to start the night. Price dropped his opponent twice early on in the opening round but Fitzmaurice returned to his feet on both occasions. The end came with 33 seconds left of Round 1, Price pinned his opponent in the corner and two hard right hands caused referee Darren Sarginson to save Fitzmaurice from further punishment.