GLASGOW, Scotland — In an all-Scottish featherweight scrap with both searching for the lift-off to world honours, Nathaniel Collins embraced a chaotic start and reigned supreme in style with a fourth-round stoppage against Lee McGregor to win the WBC Silver title.

The stoppage came at 1:45 of the fourth round, referee Mark Lyson stepping in just as McGregor's corner threw in the towel after seeing their man's unsteady legs and negative body language rather suddenly during a whirlwind stanza.

Unbeaten Collins (17-0, 8 KOs) made McGregor (15-2-1, 11 KOs) wait during a long ringwalk, soaking up the atmosphere after a hellacious year with injury and severe illness, would've had him seriously contemplating whether he'd be in a position like this again.

It would've felt weird facing a former amateur rival and friendly face in the taller, rangy McGregor but Collins looked to pick him apart at range during a cagey opening round.

He did just that, counterpunching working well and was unafraid to box at short-range, an uppercut just before the bell serving as the exclamation mark on an encouraging start.

McGregor's corner were much more vocal in the second as they jostled for position with physical exchanges aplenty. The crowd noise swelled in McGregor's favour as he landed a howitzer of a left hook late in the second, briefly pinning Collins against the ropes.

The third was more nip-and-tuck, Collins giving as good as he got after success behind the uppercut prior, while you could hear former IBF flyweight world champion Sunny Edwards barking instructions in the opposite corner during the first-half of round four.

Less than 20 seconds later, he and they looked like they'd seen a ghost — their man was down twice, an oxygen tank being readied and Collins crunching body shots to boot as the wind was firmly in his sails.

The first knockdown looked clunky in real-time, Collins outmuscling McGregor up close, connecting on three and four-punch cuffing flurries as his agemate fell to his knees. Almost immediately though, it was clear the former European bantamweight champion was seriously hurt and The Nightmare could smell blood as referee Mark Lyson began counting.

McGregor backpedalled and tried to gather his bearings but there was no respite as he edged closer to the ropes, Collins landing a left to the body, another upstairs before a right dropped him once more. Beating the count again, another body shot signalled the end.

"One year ago, in two days, I was lying in a hospital bed and didn't know if I was going to box again, so to say I would put on a perfomance of a lifetime in front of these people? I would have laughed, can't explain it in words. I'm a world-class boxer and can punch.

"America, Riyadh, wherever, I'd have done the same to [WBC world champion] Stephen Fulton," he bullishly told Queensberry's Dev Sahni post-fight after a statement showing.

Collins, who outpointed Francesco Grandelli to win EBU Silver honours last May, couldn't have imagined the subsequent year that followed. Now though, enduring unexpected adversity outside the ring and having a serious health scare put his future in doubt will have only sharpened his focus at a time where the 126-pound division remains compelling.