Freak cut stops Reece in his tracks against Rea

The 20-year-old was seeking to avenge a split decision loss to England’s Bradley Rea in September.

Farnhill, who is on his nation’s radar having impressed coaches at England Boxing’s Elite Men’s 75kg+ Open Talent Day, had performed well in the opening stanza at the 147 Club in Manchester only for the referee to intervene midway through the contest.

The amateur pugilist sustained a freak injury on his cheek which caused swelling underneath his right eye and the bout was brought to a halt, allowing the Ricky Hatton trained fighter to progress in the competition.

“Unfortunately he suffered a cut in the second round so the fight had to be stopped,” said coach Andy Howcroft. “He was boxing really well, it was close, but I thought he did enough to take the first round.

“However, they only got through about 10 seconds of the second round. He was cut on his cheek, it was like a paper cut as if he’d been caught by the velcro on his opponent’s gloves. He was taken to hospital as a precaution but he was fine.

“Bradley beat him last time on a split decision and I thought Reece had improved a lot since then. He looked comfortable so I was gutted for him.

“He didn’t rush in, slipped shots well, threw feints and his movement was good. They both had good spells in the fight and landed good shots.

“Reece said that he had felt really good in there so he was disappointed with the outcome. There was a massive improvement.”

Farnhill, who was prescribed with the mandatory 28-day recovery period, will now train towards the club’s show at Burnley Mechanics in February and the Senior Elites in April.