Fawaz retains British and Commonwealth titles as Uddin and Kamara win in Birmingham

Bilal Fawaz retained his British and Commonwealth light-middleweight titles with an eighth-round stoppage of Eithan James on the Birmingham undercard of Ben Whittaker's victory over Conor Wallace. BBC Sport's ringside report from the Utilita Arena also recorded wins for Hamza Uddin and Odel Kamara, with all three bouts ending inside the distance on a card featuring established domestic champions and a professional newcomer.

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For London-based Fawaz, the result brought a fifth stoppage victory and moved his record to 13 wins, one defeat and one draw. The Nigeria-born boxer successfully defended both belts, then used his post-fight appearance to name IBF world champion Josh Kelly and Conor Benn as opponents he wanted to face. Those were callouts after the win, rather than announcements of agreed contests.

Fawaz also collected a £5,000 stoppage bonus that promoter Eddie Hearn had offered earlier in the evening, according to the BBC. Speaking to BBC Radio 5 Live afterwards, he expressed confidence in the level he and his team could reach, while identifying world-level opposition as the standard that could present a greater obstacle.

There was British-title success for Walsall's Uddin, who extended his unbeaten record to eight victories against Sean Bruce. The 23-year-old put Bruce down twice in the fifth round, using attacks to both body and head. Uddin ultimately secured the stoppage in the eighth after landing a heavy right. Bruce got back to his feet at the count of nine, but the referee intervened to end the contest.

Kamara, meanwhile, began his professional career with a win over Greece's Thodoris Ritzakis in the chief-support bout. The 22-year-old former amateur standout scored a knockdown in the opening round before the contest was stopped in the third. Hearn praised the Liverpool debutant's prospects after a performance that gave him a successful start in the paid ranks.

The three stoppage victories preceded a main event that went the full distance. Whittaker overcame Wallace's late pressure to win on all three judges' scorecards and become the IBF's mandatory light-heavyweight challenger, completing a Birmingham programme that also delivered two British-title successes and Kamara's debut victory.