Giorgio Visioli has enjoyed something of a breakout year and the 22-year-old lightweight from Aldershot will end 2025 with his first professional title around his waist.

Visioli’s 10-round win over Joe Howarth at London's O2 Indigo earned him the vacant English lightweight title, live on DAZN.

Howarth (14-2, 4 KOs) entered the fight as a sizeable underdog but once looked like developing into a serious prospect himself. The 23-year-old from Wigan made a ferocious start to his professional career but came unstuck at the fast hands of Josh Sandford back in 2023.

Howarth has rebuilt well but once again struggled with speed. Feinting, flicking out his jab and moving in and out of range, the razor sharp Visioli (10-0, 6 KOs) made Howarth pay for every tiny mistake with his southpaw left.

Although his right eye was swelling, Howarth didn’t panic and began to move Visioli to the ropes more and more regularly. When he got there, he didn’t let his hands go enough and Visioli put together some blistering combinations before skipping back out of range.

By round four, Howarth had managed to get a foothold in the fight. The eye catching, scoring shots were still coming from Visioli but Howarth seemed to have grown accustomed to the speed and was punching with Visioli rather than waiting for his turn to fire.

Howarth’s effort couldn’t be faulted but he just wasn’t subtle or accurate enough. Visioli was able to land short, sharp counter punches and began to pick Howarth apart.

Still, he couldn’t make a significant dent in Howarth and by round seven, his own nose was bleeding and he was being caught more and more regularly.

Visioli was having to fight harder than at any point in his short career but was always managing to stay a step ahead. By round nine, Howarth’s heart appeared to be breaking. For the first time, his own forward momentum stopped and he found himself pinned on the ropes absorbing hard shots. He managed to fire back to keep himself in the fight and showed defiance to the final bell.

The scores - 100-91, 98-92, 97-93 - were unanimous and wide in Visioli's favour.

Visioli went 10 rounds for the first time and ticked plenty of boxes but he will also have plenty to work on when he gets back to the gym in the New Year.