THEY call him ‘Bang Bang’ for a reason and Nick Blackwell served up yet another example of his decisive and devastating power as he dispatched Damon Jones to retain his British middleweight title tonight.

The 24-year-old headlined a Hennessy Sports bill at the Derby Arena, which was televised live on Channel 5, and despite enduring a tricky contest against a previously unbeaten opponent, the Trowbridge ace ended things in decisive fashion, halting Jones with a spectacular right hand midway through the sixth round.

And post-fight, Blackwell revealed that illness in the build-up to this evening’s victory had left him fighting an uphill battle.

“I wanted to show off my skills but I couldn’t do it again today. I’m not making any excuses up but I’ve literally had a virus in the week,” said Blackwell.

“I felt really lethargic in the last few days and I was worrying about tonight to be honest.

“But I just kept walking him down, kept putting the pressure on him, kept covering up.

“I wasn’t throwing my shots until maybe the third or fourth round with left hooks to the body to tire him out, and obviously that made me push on a bit.

“I need to let my shots flow more and stop getting hit, even though I’ve got a good chin, but I’m happy with the way the fight finished.”

The two fighters played cat and mouse in a typically cagey opening, with Jones looking assured right up until a stiff right jab from Blackwell found the mark late in the round.

The Trowbridge man appeared to be adopting a measured approach early on as he bided his time and worked his way into range, with his opponent firing off the lion’s share of the shots.

When the pace did finally quicken, the Yorkshieman proved himself an effective counter-puncher, with his retaliatory hooks hitting the target time and again.

Blackwell couldn’t rely on his patience any longer and as he looked to up the ante, his opponent continued to yield results with his swift counter-attacks.

At the end of the fifth round, Jones punched the air on the way back to his corner, satisfied with his efforts to that point, and his confidence was met by a rise in intensity from ‘Bang Bang’, who upped his aggression and began attacking the body in a bid to move into the ascendancy.

Body shot after body shot were unleashed from Blackwell and then, in a flash, a monster right hand changed it all.

‘Bang Bang’ finally switched things up and went for the head, sending the Yorkshireman sprawling to the canvas in bone-crunchingly spectacular style.

Jones just about managed to get himself back onto his feet after a full ten count from Victor Loughlin but he was visibly rocked to the core and the referee had seen enough, with Blackwell emphatically keeping hold of his British crown.