JOE HUGHES turned in a crowd-pleasing display at the Oasis in Swindon on Saturday night as he finished 2013 in style.

The Malmesbury boxer won every round impressively as he saw off late substitute Dougie Curran, from Newcastle, on points by 60-54.

Hughes had hoped to be fighting Scotland’s Mitch Prince, who was narrowly defeated in the summer for the Commonwealth light welterweight title, but the bout was called off after some confusion over the weight limit for the match.

Curran, a 25-year-old veteran of 32 pro fights, stepped into the breach and may have regretted his decision after feeling the thunderous power of Hughes’ punching over six rounds.

Curran, who normally operates in the lightweight division, surprisingly weighed in almost 4lb heavier than former Senior ABA champion Hughes at 10st 8lb and yet he was constantly overpowered.

“I had planned to throw more combinations and have a higher work rate and the fight went very well,” said Hughes.

“It was an all-action fight – my most entertaining as a pro. I was very aggressive and threw more right hands than I had in my previous five fights.

“I landed a lot of big shots and Dougie was wobbling on a number of occasions, but fair play to him, he toughed it out to the end even though his face looked a bit of a mess.”

A possible quick follow-up bout on a Matchroom bill this coming weekend has fallen through so Joe, having had two contests in fairly quick succession after his injury-plagued year off, will not be back in action until the New Year due to a lack of boxing promotions.

“I’m hoping to fight again at the end of February or in early March,” he said. “And I am still keen to take on Mitch Prince as a victory would see me rise considerably up the rankings.” Penhill’s Kelvin Young was awarded the IBO Intercontinental title on points in the top-of-the-bill ten-rounder at the Oasis over Bulgarian Alexey 'The Fish' Ribchev.

However, the unanimous decision surprised experienced ringsiders as Young had been on the back foot throughout the fight.