Ste Clarke's 'dreams come true' after claiming bizarre stoppage win over Vasif Mamedov

Ste Clarke couldn’t hide his wide smile after a dream debut on Saturday night.

Clarke made a winning start to his professional career by stopping Vasif Mamedov in the third round of the four-round contest at the M&S Bank Arena. Managed by Paul Smith and trained by Stephen Smith, Clarke sold around 1,000 tickets for the fight and was given a hero's welcome as he made his way to the ring.

And Mamedov had no answer to what Clarke threw his way. After a good opening, the former Rotunda ABC hurt the 34-year-old with a body shot towards the end of the second. Then, during round three, the fight came to a bizarre conclusion. With Clarke on the offensive, Mamedov turned away and showed no interest in exchanging, resulting in referee Mark Lyson jumping in and waving the contest off.

“He turned away, and I could have gone in, but I thought I am not like that, and I know it is to defend yourself at all times, but I am not like that,” Clarke said post-fight.

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“I gave him enough time to turn around, but it just seemed like he didn’t want to. The ref was right to jump in.

“I thought I hurt him to the body and from what I had seen of him, he normally comes back more, so I was expecting to get a bit more openings, but he was quite defensive.”

Reflecting on his debut, Clarke told the ECHO: “It is a dream come true. It was amazing walking out in the arena like that; I couldn’t have asked for anything better.

“I have got a good following and I really appreciate it. It is unbelievable, just unbelievable. It was an unbelievable moment for me.

“Each day [of this week] has been boss. The