PAUL McCloskey has successfully defended his European Light-Welterweight Championship.

McCloskey retained his belt with an 11th round stoppage of Italian Giuseppe Lauri, who was floored heavily and the referee stopped the count so Lauri could get urgent medical attention.

There was an incredible atmosphere inside the King's Hall in Belfast as McCloskey headlined a show for the first time in the Northern Ireland capital.

Opponent Guiseppe Lauri was booed walking to the ring, while McCloskey received a standing ovation before a punch had even been thrown.

The opening round was a scrappy affair as the referee kept feeling obliged to separate the two boxers, which was to prove a common theme throughout the opening three rounds.

Lauri, who had won 50 of his 56 contests, landed well with a right hand but neither boxer did much to catch the judges' eye in the opening three minutes. Many of McCloskey's efforts were bouncing off of Lauri's gloves and not doing any damage.

The second round was a different story as McCloskey floored the Italian midway through the round.

A left hook to the back of the head from McCloskey saw Lauri hit the canvas but he immediately got up before the referee had got three.

McCloskey, sensing victory peppered Lauri's face with jabs that saw the crowd in good noise and the visitor on the back foot. A huge right uppercut from the home fighter ended a fantastic three minutes for McCloskey.

But Lauri is a tough character and he showed great heart to regain his composure in the third, although he was having to work hard to stay in the contest.

McCloskey probably did enough to claim a tight fourth and a late flurry in the dying seconds of the fifth may have been enough as well.

The contest was becoming a brawl with both fighters landing some beautiful shots. A cracking left uppercut was the highlight of the sixth as McCloskey landed perfectly on Lauri's chin.

McCloskey received another warning in the seventh for leading with the head and would have to be careful to not get a point deducted as he had already been warned for this earlier in the contest. There was becoming some bad blood between the fighters with the two of them squaring up to each other after the bell at the end of the seventh.

The eighth was a good round for Lauri. Swelling near McCloskey's eye was causing the eye to shut and Lauri then produced some of his best work of the night, including two well-timed uppercuts.

There was now not much to choose between the two men and the fighter who showed the most heart and desire in the last three rounds would be leaving with the European belt. Both men were taking having shots and it appeared we would be going to the judges scorecards at the end of the contest.

McCloskey did himself no favours in the tenth as he again led with his head, much to the Italians protest. It proved to be one offence too far and the referee, Robin Delpierre of France, deducted McCloskey a point.

But it did not matter as it was all over in the next. Lauri was warned for hitting on the break. He offered his hand to McCloskey, who glared at him in disgust. However, with the very next punch McCloskey jumped in with a beautiful right hook, it landed perfectly and Lauri collapsed to the floor.

The referee did not count all the way to ten as it was clear he was not getting up. He immediately got medical attention as his corner were furious, claiming the punch had come while Lauri was still offering his hand for the hitting on the break offence.

But their protests were in vain as McCloskey was declared the winner after 55 seconds of round 11 and still the European champion.

After some medical attention, Lauri was able to return to his corner and later to his feet, while McCloskey celebrated in the opposite corner to the delight of all of his supporters.

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