David Allen misses out on Commonwealth title

Allen's rugged, hard-working performance was only enough to sway one judge - he was on the wrong end of 115-114, 113-115, 115-114 scorecards.

"I wanted to win the belt for my dad," Allen (11-3-1) said afterwards. His father, in 1984, had won on Herol Graham's undercard when Bramall Lane last hosted a boxing event.

Doncaster's Allen consistently shoved his Jamaican visitor backwards into the ropes but suffered when Thomas (21-4) unloaded eye-catching combinations from his southpaw stance.

Thomas was deducted a point for a low blow in the middle rounds but, in the latter stages, always looked capable of hearing the final bell despite Allen's relentless pressure. The Sheffield crowd heckled when Thomas was awarded the belt last held by Anthony Joshua, but Allen did not begrudge the scoring.

"I can't argue with that [the verdict]," he said. "I did think he'd quit, but he proved me wrong and didn't give up.

"Will I be world champion? Probably not. But I will keep going. I will keep entertaining."

Olympic trio Joe Cordina, Anthony Fowler and Lawrence Okolie all earned first-round wins on the same card to remain unbeaten as professionals.

Wales' Cordina dished out enough punishment inside three minutes to force opponent Josh Thorne to withdraw in his corner. Cordina, now 3-0 as a pro, was earlier scolded by the referee for punching on the break.

Fowler's professional debut was a success, although he escaped without punishment after punching Arturs Geikins when he was already down.

Liverpool's Fowler, winner of a gold medal at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, knocked down his opponent within moments before being reprimanded for an extra punch. The fight still ended inside a round when Fowler put Geikins down again.

Okolie also won inside a round to extend his pro record to 3-0. The London cruiserweight had Rudolf Helesic on the floor twice inside the first three minutes, although he also absorbed a notable shot himself.

Meanwhile, Jamie Cox won a unanimous decision against Lewis Taylor, who was pulled out by the ringside doctor in the ninth round due to a cut caused by an accidental head clash.

Scores of 88-83, 88-83 and 87-84 enabled Cox (22-0) to claim the vacant WBA intercontinental super-middleweight championship.

An accidental collision of heads in the opening period opened a cut above Taylor's eye, and despite bravely battling on, the injury became too severe with three-and-a-half rounds remaining.

Cox is the mandatory challenger to Rocky Fielding's British title but insisted afterwards that he would target a clash with George Groves, who beat Fedor Chudinov later in the night.

Andy Townend (19-4) will move up a weight after beating Jon Kays (22-6-1) via second-round stoppage.

The Commonwealth super-featherweight title remained vacant after Townend failed to make weight on Friday, and he claimed afterwards that he was finished with the division.

"I'm gutted I didn't make the weight," he said. "But this is a new thing and this is just the start - lightweight here I come."