CHORLEY light welterweight Jack Catterall incredibly claimed the European title in only his 10th professional fight after a stoppage victory over Tom Stalker.

The highly-rated Catterall is only 21 years old and made his professional debut just two years ago, but his rapid rise continued as he stopped former Great Britain Olympic boxing captain Stalker at Liverpool’s Echo Arena on Saturday night.

Catterall only got his chance for a shot at the vacant WBO European light welterweight title after Stalker’s scheduled British title eliminator with Chris Jenkins failed to materialise.

The Chorley star then got his chance to take on Stalker, who was the captain of the Great Britain boxing team at the 2012 Olympics in London but failed to win a medal.

Catterall had vow to knock out Liverpudlian Stalker in the build-up to Saturday’s fight and he was true to his word.

Stalker, previously unbeaten in nine fights as a professional, was put down in the first and second rounds but rallied to make the contest a real war.

Stalker’s face was badly marked but did some damage of his own, causing Catterall’s right eye to swell.

But Catterall landed a superb left hand to rock Stalker again in the eighth of 10 scheduled rounds.

As he looked to finish the fight the contest was stopped with 12 seconds of the round remaining.

Victory took Catterall’s professional record to 10 victories and six knock-outs from 10 fights, and could now open up opportunities for a host of exciting fights.

Former world champion Ricky Burns is currently fighting in the light welterweight division, while Italian Michele Di Rocco currently holds the EBU European title.

Catterall recently earned a promotional deal with Frank Warren and is trained by Lee Beard, who previously worked with Ricky Hatton.