JORDAN THOMSPON's face was temporarily unrecognisable as he ate a punishing blow in his cruiserweight clash with Jai Opetaia.
The former tennis prospect challenged the unbeaten Aussie for the IBF 200lbs title at Wembley Arena on Saturday night.
But the Brit's 16th professional outing proved to be a complete mismatch from the outset, with Opetaia hurting and drawing blood from him in the first round.
Opetaia, 28, couldn't miss with his power shots, which repeatedly bludgeoned the nose of the dogged and determined Thompson.
One of the punishing blows nearly contorted Thompson's bloodied face and sent spurts of his life force flying through the air.
A brave but outgunned Thompson was dropped in the third round and was badly rocked before the end of the stanza.
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The fight should've been stopped between rounds but Thompson's corner dusted him off and sent him back out there.
Opetaia didn't waste the opportunity to pick up his 18th career stoppage, swarming early and landing a straight left and a vicious right hook which sent Thompson to the canvas.
“I stand here in this ring and I’m born for this s**t,” a fired-up Opetaia roared after his first title defence.
He added: “I felt like this entire fight week was about Jordan Thompson. It was nothing to do with me.
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"They put me in this small ring thinking they were going to cut me off but look what happened.
" I got good footwork.
"I told them I got good power, too. Look what happened.”
Matchroom Boxing chief Eddie Hearn took to Instagram to hail both men's performances in the shadows of Wembley Stadium.
He wrote: "We had a special fighter in the U.K. last night in @jaiopetaia_
"I believe he will capture every belt in the division.
"Shout out to @jordan_boxing_ for rolling the dice..heavyweight awaits."
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