Jamel Herring set up a long-awaited super-featherweight title defence against Carl Frampton later this year after defeating Jonathan Oquendo in Las Vegas by disqualification.
The American defended his title as Oquendo was disqualified by referee Tony Weeks at the end of round eight for repeated intentional headbutts.
Herring attended hospital after the fight at the MGM Grand Conference Center but had no broken bones.
“It just got ugly,” Herring said.
He has now won 22 of his 24 pro fights.
The 34-year-old knocked down Oquendo in the second round and then the headbutts began, opening up a nasty gash above Herring’s right eye. That led to the Puerto Rican being deducted a point.
The headbutts continued and ultimately spelled the end of evening for Oquendo.
At the time of the disqualification, Herring was in control on the scorecards, with two judges having the American ahead 80-70 on their scorecards, with the other scoring the contest 79-71.
Herring said: “I wasn’t too satisfied with my performance, to be honest with you. In the beginning, everything was going real smooth, me boxing.
“I put him down with an uppercut. We knew he was going to come head-first. We had to time it. In the end, I wasn’t happy with how I was looking. I’m disappointed with the outcome. I’ve never been in that situation.
“I still want the Carl Frampton fight next by all means. November, December, whatever. I still want that fight next.”
Herring had been scheduled to fight Oquendo in July but the fight was called off one day prior to the contest after the American tested positive for Covid-19 for a second time.
