Boxing: Swift suffers at hands of Till

ANDY TILL bludgeoned Wally Swift to a fourth-round defeat to retain the British light-middleweight title at the Royal Albert Hall last night.

Till was too strong and persistent for the challenger, who was beaten inside the distance for the first time in 36 fights. The referee, Larry O'Connell, called a halt after 24 seconds of the round after Swift took a left hook and sagged on to the ropes.

The former champion protested that he was fit to continue but he had already taken a beating and was cut over the right eye.

Till, a 29-year-old Middlesex milkman, was earning the biggest purse of his career - pounds 30,000. He had taken the title from Swift seven months ago in one of Britain's best fights of 1992, then stopped Tony Collins in his first defence, and this victory earned him a Lonsdale belt outright.

'I thought I had him in the second round,' Till said afterwards, 'but the referee was right to step in, otherwise Wally could have been really hurt.'