Pride of Portsmouth stuns in front of millions on world stage

Mark Chamberlain took another significant step in his rapidly rising career on the grandest of stages and beamed: ‘It just doesn’t seem real.’

And the proud Portsmouth puncher saluted the overwhelming support received from his home city after claiming his latest professional belt.

Chamberlain showed why is fast becoming a force to be reckoned with in the lightweight division, producing a shuddering first-round knockout defeat of Nigerian Joshua Wahab to claim the WBC International Silver title in Saudi.

It was a performance which outlined the effortless and explosive power possessed by the Waterlooville man, initially having Wahab down before a destructive left-hand to conclude a fierce flurry of punches left the African requiring medical attention on the canvas.

For Chamberlain, now 16-0, it was a case of taking the big stage treatment in his stride – this time on the undercard of the epic undisputed heavyweight between Brit Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.

The win propels the 25-year-old, who fights out of Southbourne’s Panthers Gym, into the top-10 of the WBC rankings with some even greater occasions awaiting him.

And Chamberlain is determined for the big nights to keep on coming for his Pompey following.

He said: ‘To be honest with you it happened so quick (knockout of Wahab), I spent longer warming up in the changing rooms, it’s crazy – it just doesn’t seem real.

‘It only felt like I was here a week ago fighting against Gavin Gwynne – I put on a dominant performance against him – here we are nine weeks later, back to back camps, picking up another title along the way.

‘I’m just thankful for these opportunities, it’s a dream to be on shows like this, it’s happened to me twice in a few weeks, it’s crazy.

‘Obviously his Excellency loves me. I’ve just got to keep delivering, winning – hopefully keep him happy and hopefully I should be more than welcome here again.

‘I’ve just got much love for everyone back home. Anyone who has messaged and tuned in tonight, thank you very much. No doubt I’ll catch up with everyone.’