Light heavyweight Gabriel Garvan saw off Cheltenham’s Ronnie Smith as he made a winning debut for Bicester Boxing Club at the England v Norway fight night at the Hatherley Manor, Cheltenham.

Garvan, a hotel porter in Oxford, and an experienced boxer in his native country of Romania, saw a looping right hand connect on Smith’s chin towards the end of the opening round, but his opponent managed to shake it off.

Garvan stepped up the intensity in the next round, punching with more authority and pushing Smith back to the ropes before unloading with menacing hooks.

A right hook to the body made Smith wince with pain, but again he managed to hold on until the end of the round.

The punches were raining in from Garvan and Smith looked unsteady on his feet in the third and final round, which the Bicester boxer took with a unanimous decision on the judges’ scorecards.

Bicester’s head coach, Daza Usher, said: “It’s good to get Gabriel a match as he has been working hard in the gym.

“I have taken him to several professional gyms to spar and he has really improved over the last few months.”

Garvan added: “It feels good to be competing again.

“My last contest was over a year ago so I needed to shake off the rust.”