Josh Taylor continues winning run after stopping Miguel Vazquez in ninth

The 26-year-old Scot from Prestonpans knew the first defence of his WBC silver super-lightweight belt against the 30-year-old Mexican would be a clear step up in class.

Vazquez's record of five losses in 44 fights owed everything to the fact he had only been beaten by the best.

Indeed, he had never been stopped until a right hook to the body by Taylor brought a thrilling and pulsating fight to an end.

Taylor now has the perfect record of 11-0 and can look for bigger fights with his reputation further enhanced after an impressive defeat of a former long-reigning world champion.

The home fighter looked relaxed he entered the ring to the cheers of his fans and was clearly energised by the roars before the first bell.

The 'Tartan Tornado' then tried to force the pace but the wily Vazquez showed his experience and a cut opened up above Taylor's left eye in the second round after a clash of heads.

A ferocious start to the third brought some joy for the older man who found the target with a couple of shots which silenced the crowd momentarily.

Taylor remained the more aggressive but found Vazquez demonstrating a good defence, slippery and hard to pin down.

The Scot found his way through a couple of times in the fifth with left hooks, and ended the round on top.

Taylor edged a less frantic sixth but the Mexican landed once or twice by way of a complacency reminder.

The next three minutes revealed two hardy fighters who could both give and take shots.

Taylor made the running again in the eighth, a flurry of accurate deliveries rousing the crowd and he stepped up again in the ninth with a body shot of such ferocity after two minutes and 30 seconds of the ninth that Vazquez could not beat the count.

Earlier, Jason Easton defended his inter-continental super-lightweight title for the first time with a unanimous points win over Josef Zahradnik.

In a bruising and bloody contest the 26-year-old from Edinburgh had to protect a cut at the side of his eye from round five against a hardy Czech opponent, who was hitherto unbeaten in nine.

Both fighters left nothing in the ring and the judges scored it 117-111, 118-110 and 120-108 in favour of the hometown fighter, who now has an unblemished 11-0 record.

Edinburgh bantamweight Lee McGregor, 20, began his professional career with a first-round stoppage win over Bulgarian Stefan Sashov.

Chantelle Cameron beat Mexican Edith Ramos to win the vacant IBO inter-continental super-featherweight belt.

Cameron dominated two punishing opening rounds before the referee stopped the fight in the third.

Taylor insists he made a "massive statement" to the rest of his weight division.

He said: "I am pretty over the moon with that.

"It was really tough, definitely the hardest test of my career so far.

"People were saying he was not a puncher, but he was heavier-handed than what people were giving him credit for.

"He was very tough, very awkward and hard to hit clean.

"I was getting a wee bit frustrated with myself, but once I relaxed and stopped trying too hard I started to get the shots off and got him out of there.

"So I am really happy.

"That is the first time he has ever been stopped to that is a massive statement for me to make in the 140 scene."