JOE Hughes’ iron will wasn’t enough to throw the cat amongst the pigeons as Malmesbury’s English super-lightweight champion was beaten by Jack Catterall in Bolton on Saturday night.

In a final eliminator for the British title, the 25-year-old hit the road and travelled to the North West to challenge the highly-rated Catterall for his WBO inter-continental belt but for all his heart, the Wiltshire fighter was unable to overcome the odds as he emerged on the wrong end of a unanimous 115-113, 117-112, 117-113 decision at the Macron Stadium in Bolton.

Fighting in the 16th contest of his professional career at the top of a bill broadcast live on BoxNation, Hughes and his opponent kicked things off with a patient, probing opening round, with 'El Gato' Catterall keeping his right arm outstretched to maintain a safe distance from the Wiltshire man in the early stages.

Shortly after the bell rang for the second round, the home fighter exploded into life and unleashed a barrage of combinations before Hughes tied him up and set about attempting to find a way to negate Catterall’s superior reach.

The WBO incumbent began to enjoy some success in round three and he was geed up by drawing blood from a cut on Hughes’ nose in the third round, blazing forward and unleashing a torrent of hooks in the Malmesbury fighter’s direction.

But it was Hughes’ turn to go on the offensive in round four as he stuck close to Catterall and attempted to catch him unawares with a series of arcing hooks but his sorties were regularly met by the Lancashire man’s snapping jab.

In the fifth, the tempo suddenly slowed as the two combatants changed tack, with the pair standing off each other in the middle of the ring – Catterall was seemingly content to have a significant space between himself and Hughes again after his earlier bid for a quickfire stoppage failed.

As the halfway point of the fight neared, the Wiltshire fighter looked much more comfortable with the pace of the contest, opting to bide his time and attempt to draw his opposite number into offering up and opening.

Hughes upped the work-rate in round seven and began to walk down Catterall, putting the Chorley fighter on the back foot for the first time in the fight and demonstrating that the 22-year-old wasn’t going to have things all his own way.

Catterall attempted to unload some spiteful shots in round eight but Hughes shrugged them off and continued to march, causing some concern among the home ranks as their fighter struggled to get back into the ascendancy.

The roof was raised on the arena midway through the ninth as Catterall unloaded everything he had in search of a stoppage but Hughes stood firm and whisked himself out of harm’s way to ensure that the crowd’s cheers remained premature.

Some finely-timed blows from Catterall slowed the Wiltshire man’s assault in the 10th, and in the 11th, the home fighter repeatedly made use of his nous to grab hold of Hughes and prevent his challenger from launching a late fightback.

The theme continued in the final round of the night and despite a gutsy display, there was to be no upset in the North West as the decision didn’t go the way of Hughes.