GAVIN Gwynne took his record to a perfect 10 at the Newport Centre tonight as he outpointed Englishman Myron Mills in their eliminator for the British lightweight title.

Gwynne’s St Joseph’s stablemates Andrew Selby and Robbie Vernon also won, while Gavin Rees-trained Jake Tinklin, like Vernon, triumphed on his pro debut.

However, Pontypool’s Kieran Gething missed out on the Welsh welterweight crown to Tony Dixon and St Joes’ Fred Evans lost for the first time in the paid code.

Welsh champion Gwynne, from Trelewis, produced arguably the best display of his career to see off English champion Mills, who also went into the bout protecting an unblemished record.

Gwynne came on strong in the closing rounds and was awarded the victory by all three judges (97-93, 96-94, 96-94).

Unbeaten Gwynne will now expect to challenge Lewis Ritson, who currently holds the Lonsdale Belt as British number one.

Meanwhile, Dixon’s jab was just about the most lethal weapon of the night, and Gething felt the full force of it as he saw his chances of a maiden professional title slip by.

Referee John Latham awarded Dixon the contest 95-94 at the end of 10 rounds, though that scoreline was slightly generous to Gething, who was never given the opportunity to really get on top.

Gething also took a count in the fourth round after being caught with a stiff right hand.

But the jab of Dixon was a constant throughout the fight, continually finding its target while Gething struggled to find a way through.

Earlier in the night, Selby seemed like a man on a mission as he showed no rustiness after a long spell out of the ring.

The St Joseph’s star, who has a world title eliminator on the horizon, took no time at all to find his rhythm, bombarding Tanzania’s Adam Yahaya with shots from everywhere.

It was slick and stylish stuff as ever and Selby delivered a full array of punches, much to the delight of the home crowd.

On fire in the second, he was just too hot to handle for Yahaya and the referee had seen enough as the bell approached.

Previously unbeaten Evans was not only defeated for the first time, he also suffered the first knockdown of his professional career.

Evans went into the fight against two-time Southern Area champion Ryan Toms aware of the Englishman’s power but confident of winning and then moving on to a title shot in the new year.

Those plans may have to be put on the back-burner for now after a loss that came as a surprise to most at the Newport Centre.

Evans had made a solid enough start in the opening round, although there was a sign of things to come when Toms connected with his powerful left hand on more than one occasion.

And round two was only seconds old when Evans hit the deck following a cracking left from his opponent.

Another Toms left followed and moments later Evans took his second count after going down again.

At this stage, Evans’ best form of defence was attack and he briefly responded with what proved to be a last-ditch effort to save his undefeated record.

Toms then launched a further assault that sent Evans reeling towards the neutral corner, with the referee deciding enough was enough.

On the flip side, Vernon made the perfect start to life as a pro in his first fight in six years since quitting the sport while an amateur.

The St Joes debutant made short shrift of Barry’s JD Jones, pummelling his way to a stoppage win after just 90 seconds.

Vernon, from Bridgend, began at a frenetic pace and never let up, leaving the referee with no option but to stop Jones from taking any more punishment.

Like Vernon, Risca’s Tinklin also won on his debut, knocking down Ricky Rose on the way to a 40-35 points triumph.

And like Vernon, Tinklin also had plenty of support to cheer him on to a performance that peaked in the last round when a big overhand right sent Rose to the canvas.

There was added disappointment for Robbie Turley’s fans before the show as their hero decided not to face Commonwealth super-bantamweight champion Ashley Lane.

Turley had come in eight ounces over the weight limit on Friday so couldn’t regain the title he won last April – it would have been a first defence for the Englishman if he had prevailed.