Brian Rose got a stern test today from Kris Carslaw, but retained his British junior middleweight title by unanimous decision on scores of 115-114, 116-113, and 118-112. Bad Left Hook scored it 115-113 for Rose.

Rose (20-1-1, 5 KO) was a bit flat for much of the fight, not quite looking as spirited as he had against Prince Arron or Max Maxwell in his last two outings. Part of this, however, was due to the fact that Carslaw (15-2, 3 KO) took away his jab, which was thought to be the key weapon for the longer, taller Rose heading into the fight.

Carslaw picked up some nice momentum in the second and third rounds, but in that third a nasty clash of heads opened a bad wound on the forehead of Carslaw. With blood pouring down the center of his face as he got back to his corner, Carslaw's cut man went to work and did a terrific job of keeping it in check over the remainder of the fight.

Carslaw never looked quite as good as he had before the cut, though, even with his workrate pretty high and his effort great. Carslaw was right in the fight until the end, but over time, Rose's superior quality work took over the contest, and led him to a points win.

If Carslaw could have a good loss today, this was probably it. I'm sure that's little consolation for him, but he gave a terrific effort and should be proud of his performance.

In the co-feature, welterweight prospect Rick Godding improved to 17-0 (3 KO) with a stoppage win over game but outgunned James Flinn (10-3-1, 2 KO).