Matty Tew put in a brave performance in his English light-welterweight title eliminator against Tommy Martin but was stopped in the seventh round.

The Southampton fighter landed the glamour fight at the O2 Arena and won plenty of praise for a gusty, though ultimately doomed, display.

Tew came into the bout as the underdog, but many believed he had a genuine chance due to his superior experience and the fact he never gives up.

He had taken the fight at just five weeks notice, but that certainly didn’t show as he made the most of the excellent conditioning he had worked upon with his trainer, Wayne Batten.

It was a battle of styles in many ways.

Martin produced the cleaner and crispier punches, but Tew was never going to be an easy opponent with his gutsy approach.

Tew was happy to scrap away in whatever circumstance he found himself in and it caused Martin plenty of problems.

There was brief hope that Tew might cause the upset everybody who travelled to London to back the 31-year-old was so desperately hoping for in the fifth round.

He landed a stinging right hand to the body which forced Martin to take a count in order to recover.

However, Martin did recover and stepped things up, having been given a significant warning by his brave opponent.

He raised up the tempo in the sixth round and had Tew reeling.

The Southampton man had blood coming from his nose and had been shaken by the onslaught.

Martin was buoyed by his success and came out for the seventh round determined to get the job done, which he duly did, forcing the referee to stop the contest.

Despite leaving the O2 Arena defeated, Tew’s reputation was boosted by his performance.

Though an English title eliminator was a great opportunity, there is a decent chance of more offers coming his way.

It may be that he is the underdog opponent, but with his brave performances and never say die attitude he always has a chance and gives the value for money that promoters look for.

Tew can also fight in a few weight divisions which further opens up his options if he wishes to explore them.