WORCESTER light-middleweight Leroy Williamson slipped to a 59-55 six-round points defeat at the hands of local favourite Lee Edwards at Sheffield's Octagon Centre.

Williamson, who had originally been scheduled to meet Mexborough's muscular Stuart Brookes, agreed to a late change and instead stepped into the ropes to face Edwards, who had emerged victorious in his only other outing in the paid ranks.

Taking his time and picking his shots carefully, the Sheffield man began well to move into an early lead.

While Williamson began to settle into his stride from the start of the third round, finding the target with a pair of left hooks to the head, Edwards was still pushing him close with a regular left jab.

Despite scoring with a series of combinations to the head, Williamson was second best in many exchanges and, by the end of the penultimate session, had picked up a slightly bloodied nose.

With the contest seemingly in the bag, Edwards kept things at a distance through the final session but still managed to get through to pound Williamson.

Edwards was fully deserving of the victory, which improves his record to 2-0, while the defeat was Williamson's 54th of a 69-fight pro career.