WATCH: 'Devastating shot' in left-hook Belfast Brawl victory for James McGivern as Northern Ireland boxer targets Frank Warren contract

​’The Natural’ produced a devastating left hook near the end of the second round against the Welshman to retain his BUI Celtic Lightweight title in Belfast and extend his unbeaten record to 9-0 in the professional ranks.

The 26 year-old revealed that he had been working on the knockout shot with his trainer – former three-weight world champion Ricky Burns – prior to the fight in his camp in Scotland.

“All those months of training for that,” joke McGivern after finishing the fight within five-and-a-half minutes. “We worked on that punch in the gym time and time again, we worked on holding my feet a bit more and not being as bouncy and not being as far away.

“The first round I was sort of figuring out what he wanted to do then I sort of settled down to my own rhythm planted my feet and let the shots go a bit more.

“The first couple of shouts in the first round was to put him off and not let him get too much confidence, then he came out and tried to throw a bit more, so I started to let shots go and it paid off.

“That is the first time that I have really knocked out someone cold, there was one in Dublin but that one was convincing.

“I have been working in the gym with Ricky, sitting down more, historically everyone knows I’m a counter-puncher and I work on my back foot and away.

“Me and Ricky worked in the gym on staying solid on my feet and punching harder.”

McGivern has only been with Burns a couple of weeks and is already seeing the dividends paying off.

“The two weeks made a difference, being in that environment in a training camp where you are only there to train,” said McGivern. “It was in a wee apartment in Airdrie and there was nothing to do around the place, I was literally just there to train, and I was just focused on trained.”

McGivern wants to pen a deal with Queensberry Promotions and get bigger fights.

“I was saying at ringside Frank may get the contract signed,” he said. “What more can you do?

"Maybe let it go another couple of rounds so I could show off a bit but I’m happy.

“Hopefully I now put pen to paper with Queensberry, hopefully that was good enough for them or not...I think it is, hopefully I sign with them and that is me in the big time.

“British, Commonwealth, European (titles), maybe look at something like that soon.”

The 12-fight card also featured Belfast’s Colm Murphy and Conor Quinn – the latter on his Queensberry stable debut and sharing top billing for the clash with Conner Kelsall to win the vacant Commonwealth flyweight championship.

The Republic of Ireland’s Pierce O’Leary was the other headline fight on his fourth defence of the WBC International super-lightweight title when up against Darragh Foley.

Murphy had his sights on the vacant Commonwealth Silver featherweight title.