THE BRITISH Classic Challenge light-heavyweight title evaded Kelvin Young tonight as he failed to overcome Keiron Gray at the Oasis Leisure Centre.

The 28-year-old Swindon man was pitted against a man with only eight victories on his record but Gray’s experience saw him pose a gritty challenge for the Horseshoe Gym’s ‘Young Gun’, with referee Lee Cook unable to separate the two challengers (76-76) following a frantic clash in front of Young’s home fans.

Young left the experienced Gray (8-45-1) waiting in the ring for an extended period pre-fight but once the action got under way, the home fighter looked to work his way into the contest whilst his opponent was more frantic in his early work.

Young exploded out of the blocks in the second round, pushing Gray into the corner and raining down all manner of heavy-handed blows, but his opposite number was largely unshaken.

The Telford man attempted to strike back in the third but walked straight into a punishing hook midway through the round but kept busy enough to keep Young at arm’s length and managed to break through the Swindon man’s guard a handful of times before the bell.

The relentless Gray was growing in confidence, signalled by his desire to increasingly come forward, and working around his uppercut, he managed to turn the screw on ‘Young Gun’ for the majority of the fourth.

A scathing right hook, which landed cleanly on Young’s left cheek, drew gasps of breath from around the Oasis midway through the fifth round, leaving the Horseshoe Gym man with work to do.

The two fighters largely cancelled each other out in the sixth, with neither able to put together any meaningful work, whilst Gray complained of low blows multiple times, and in the penultimate round, referee Lee Cook lost patience with Young, deducting him a point.

The home fighter needed a big final round and with Gray fatigued, Young launched a measured offensive, picking his shots but shackling his opponent in the corners and keeping the pressure on long enough to take the decision.