Lee McGregor is the new European champion after whirlwind defeat of Karim Guerfi

Edinburgh’s Lee McGregor sent shockwaves through the bantamweight division as he stopped Karim Guerfi in the first round to be crowned European champion.

Lee McGregor celebrates after his first-round victory over Karim Guerfi in their European Bantamweight Title fight in Bolton Stadium. Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

The undefeated 24-year-old adds the continental crown to his British and Commonwealth titles, all coming inside ten professional bouts.

The referee brought the contest at the University of Bolton to a halt with 17 seconds remaining of the opening round after McGregor had dropped the former champion three times. Guerfi, the 34-year-old defending champion from France, was simply unable to recover from some devastating blows to the body.

Victory saw McGregor drop to the canvas in jubilation and he is now expected to rest up before a potential outing in Las Vegas, in May, on the undercard of MTK stablemate Josh Taylor’s undisputed world super lightweight duel against Jose Ramirez.

Lee McGregor celebrates with his belts after victory over Karim Guerfi of France. Picture: Alex Livesey/Getty Images

“I said I was going to deliver and I did,” McGregor said after an easy night’s work. “I’m one of the very few who takes risks and if you take them, you get the rewards. I think becoming Commonwealth, British and now European champion after just ten fights, at the age of 24, is very impressive but I won’t stop here.”