Dundee’s Sam Hickey stopped Nigeria’s Benson Adeyinka to guarantee himself a bronze medal at the Commonwealth Games.
The Lochee lad delivered an explosive quarter-final performance, with the referee waving it off in the third round after Adeyinka was badly hurt to the head.
The early finish put the seal on another dominant display from the 22-year-old, who was punch perfect in his last-16 scrap with Saint Lucia’s Kyghan Mortley on Sunday.
And he will now face England’s Lewis Richardson in the silver medal bout.
BBC pundit and former world champ Richie Woodhall said: “What a semi-final we’ve got. That will be a cracker.”
The first round was a cagey affair, with southpaw Adeyinka kept at bay by Hickey’s jab.
The Nigerian was guilty of rushing in and falling short on a number of occasions and the Scot was quick to punish him with the right hand.
Hickey came under fire briefly in the second round as Adekyinka stepped up the pace and took wild swings at close quarters.
But with 30 seconds left he hurt his rival with a body shot before showboating in front of the Birmingham crowd.
Stunning stoppage
And the Dundee fighter was soon in dreamland in the third round, halting Adeyinka’s attack with brutal shots to body and head and it wasn’t long before the referee stepped in to give the Nigerian a standing eight count.
Hickey then showcased his credentials as a finisher.
He refused to let Adeyinka off the hook and unleashed another barrage of blows to the head, prompting the official to stop the bout.
The boy from the City of Discovery’s gold medal pursuit continues.
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