Despite a game effort, Tyrone McKenna’s bid to upset the odds in Brighton on Friday against Harlem Eubank fell short as his challenge for the vacant IBF Inter-Continental strap ended in the 10th round.

McKenna was on the floor three times in the fight, the last of those a prelude to Eubank putting his foot on the gas to force referee Mark Lyson to jump in after 2.09 of the round.

'The Mighty Celt' had promised war, but boxed with patience early which seemed to throw Eubank who took a few rounds to solve the riddle, but the speed of the Brightonian became his best weapon as he was able to counter and punish with shots that would see him take charge.

That's not to say it was completely one-way traffic as McKenna has his own success, but just couldn;t fully impose himself to make it a fight on his terms and he admitted afterwards that the speed and accuracy of his 31-year-old foe, now perfect through 21 fights and likely on the brink of a shot at world honours, was just a bridge too far.

"It was cagey at the start, but maybe his speed just started to... Yeah, it was just hard to pin down," he reflected as he returned to his dressing room..

"My plan was to box and try and catch him coming in because I don't think he's great at coming forward. Once it wasn't working, my plan was to go to plan B, which would have been a war, but I just couldn't pin him down. 

"Any time we got close, we were getting too close together, everything was smothered and I couldn't work, so I couldn't even go to war like I wanted to, which is disappointing because that's what I love doing. 

"I couldn't let the hands go, but he's very sharp and very strong. The shots that put me down were just flash. Straight away, I was sweet. As you could see, I got up straight away and was laughing. He's very good, he's much better than I thought he was going to be. I'm an old man and he was just too fast for me." 

It was quite a cagey opening as southpaw McKenna, holding considerable height and reach advantages, sought to box rather than brawl with Eubank tasked with solving the puzzle.

The pace increased a little more in the third, with Eubank getting closer and wrestling the visitor to the floor twice - neither ruled knockdowns - but it indicated more of a willingness to get inside.

Speed was on Eubank's side as he landed a flush right hand in the fourth and this gave him confidence to go back for more despite being tagged earlier in the round, as there was a sense he was now starting to solve the riddle.

Despite the Belfast man wearing a welt under his right eye entering the fifth, he remained composed but was made to pay late in the round as he mistimed an attack and Eubank was quick to punish with a chopping right dropping the visitor.

McKenna was up immediately but ate another, right on the bell as he returned to his corner with a wry smile across his features.

As the fight moved into the second half, Eubank was now into a flow with his confidence high, showing more of a willingness to march McKenna down and his dvantage in terms of power was highlighted again as having taken a flush shot, returned one of his own that backed up McKenna and seconds later, another short right had the Belfast man on the floor.

However, the durability of McKenna has always been without question as he bounced back up.

Although McKenna was game, he seemed to have run out of ideas and although a low blow gave him a momentary reprieve in the 10th, there was not debating what followed as Eubank seized the moment, unleashing a right that dropped McKenna and although stubbornly, 'The Mighty Celt' was back up, the follow-up assault was enough for Lyson to call a halt which saw Eubank triumph.

"I need to watch back and see if there are any positives," McKenna refected, his left eye damaged and stitched as he returned to his dressing room. 

I was trying to time the left hand and coming in a lot. I was just falling short a bit. I feel like the punches were just inches off. That's just him. He was very good, isn't he? He's improved a lot over the last few years and I can see him doing well in this division. He's strong, he's not afraid to get rough and ready as well. You could see that he's a fierce competitor as well. 

"I've been away from my kids and family for the last five months, so I'll go spend time with them and chill and see what the craic is. 

"I love every second of fighting. Even if I'm fighting a tough one there, I still love it. I still love entertaining people and laughing and having fun in there. I still did have fun, but he was just a level above me tonight."