McMillan has never had it so good

Edinburgh southpaw welterweight ace Gary McMillan, stopped Glasgow's former Commonwealth superfeatherweight champion Craig Docherty to grab the vacant British Masters welterweight title at Glasgow's Central Hotel last night.

McMillan inflicted several severe cuts and abrasions on his opponent who looked to have difficulties with the Edinburgh boxer's "wrong way round" style throughout the contest before referee Victor Laughlin indicated that the bout was over at the end of round nine, giving McMillan his first pro title.

McMillan's coach Terry McCormack was delighted "McMillan not only dominated the fight but he cut Docherty to ribbons. When the end came Docherty has cuts on his head, nose and lip which forced his corner to pull him out at the end of the ninth. We are so delighted for Gary who has had to battle to overcome injuries which put his career on hold for a time," he said.

Meanwhile, another Ednburgh boxer, bantamweight Gareth Stemp, made a successful pro debut on the same bill as he won every one of the four scheduled rounds in his bout by 40-37 points against Glasgow's Ryan McNichol.

"I had McNichol rocking in the last round and would have stopped him had it gone another round- and I'm just so pleased to have won my first paid fight," said Stemp.

• AMIR KHAN has revealed he could fight American superstar Floyd Mayweather next year with the blessing and backing of friend and sparring partner Manny Pacquiao.

The WBA light-welterweight champion from Bolton continues his American adventure in December with a mandatory defence against heavy-handed Argentinian Marcos Maidana in Las Vegas.

Even now, Khan, 23, is looking further ahead to a possible match-up with Mayweather. "Manny thinks it will be a good fight because he's trained with me, sparred with me, he really thinks I'm good enough to fight Mayweather now," said Khan. "But I think in the next 12 months, when I get more experience, I think I'll be in better condition to fight him then."