SKILLS pay the bills and James McGivern showcased his brilliantly at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool on Saturday to score a shutout 80-72 points win over Facundo Arce to improve to 10-0.
The Market man boxed brilliantly against the Argentinian who may have entered with a modest record, but has proven to be a real threat in the past on his travels.
McGiven was making his first appearance on the Queensberry roster and was keen to impress, doing so with a superb display of boxing as he controlled the eight rounds.
There wasn't a repeat of his highlight-reel knockout of Rashid Omar he scored in Belfast back in June, but controlled the distance, pace and put his shots together well to claim the win which maintains his recent momentum,
"It was solid enough," he said afterwards.
"I did what I had to do. He didn't really want to know, was spoiling the whole time and his head was dow around my knees for most of it, so it wasn't exactly a barnstormer, but a good eight rounds.
"Any punches he did throw were from his boots, so I had to stay switched on as the one he did land, left me with a mark.
"He came in to do the eight rounds as he's probably fighting again next week, so it's understandable. Any of the shots I landed he took well, but it's a learning curve. It wasn't as nice as I'd want it to be, but hey ho."
The Belfast man took control from the off, feinting and finding his range, whilst evading what was coming his way from an opponent who has proven in the past he has the power to make a dent.
Yet by the end of the second, 'The Natural' had completely taken control, varying his work and asserting himself with lead rights which kept Arce off balance and unable to mount a charge.
He was also giving nothing away cheaply, using the jab to set up lefts and was fully into a flow but did finally get caught with a looping left at the end of the third.
Perhaps this was a little plus also as he was able to shrug off the shot and got straight back to business in the fourth, showcasing his variety and repelling anything Arce tried.
It was cruise control into the second half of the contest as McGivern continued to control matters, proving a couple of steps ahead of the Argentine who he was able to read and punish.
A stoppage would have put the icing on the cake, but it wasn't to be, yet the job was done in fine style and he is hopeful of building on this win before the year is out, planning on returning to work with each Ricky Burns after short break.
"If there's a show before Christmas, I'm ready to rock n'roll," he insisted.
"I'll go home, take a week off to rest and recover, then get back at it again.
"Back to freezing cold Scotland, but I really enjoy working with Ricky. I'm away from home, away from my partner, family, friends and my dog, but I enjoy that setting as I'm there to work and train, so I enjoy going to the gym for something to do."
