Tom Cowling, of Balderton, wins by technical knockout on his professional debut

Tom Cowling opened his professional boxing account with a stunning second-round technical knockout.

In what was the biggest day of Cowling’s 12-years in boxing, the 22-year-old, of Balderton, flew out of the traps and showed no signs of debut nerves at the Britannia Hotel, Nottingham.

Prior to the fight, Cowling had said the professional game would suit his style better, as it gave him more time to wear his opponents down, but only two rounds were needed in this one.

Entering the ring to a sea of applause from more than 100 travelling Newark supporters, Cowling targeted the body.

His opponent, Bryn Wain, a journeyman, but by no means an poor fighter, stood his own for the first minute, but the tempo of Cowling’s counter-punching soon got the better of him.

Having sized up his opponent Cowling landed several combinations towards the end of the round, and at this point, he was in control and his confidence was growing.

He came out of the blocks and was much more aggressive in the second, dominating the centre of the ring, and after connecting well with two big blows to Wain’s body, he landed a powerful third, and dropped Wain to his knees.

With the Yeovil-based fighter struggling to get back up, the referee waved the fight off and Cowling embraced the crowd ­— and his trainer Carl Greaves ­— during celebrations, before regaining his composure to wish Wain well.

“It was a great feeling to get the win,” said Cowling.

“The fight itself could not have gone to plan any better than it did. All the hard work in the gym paid off.”

Cowling said he was pleased with his performance from a boxing stand point, as he last fought as an amateur in May, 2018.

“To say I haven’t boxed competitively in ten months, which is a long time in boxing, I was pleased with my performance and what I did on the night,” he said.

“The support I had was amazing too and I’m already looking forward to getting back in the gym.

“It’s now about working hard for the next one and building on the win.”

The 22-year-old also gave credit to his opponent.

He said: “Bryn (Wain) was tough. He was was hard to break down at times, but I knew I had to stay patient and work him out.”