Dream belts escape clutches of disappointed Ellie Hellewell

The Rotherham-born super bantamweight fell just short in her dream bid to become British, Commonwealth and WBO International super bantamweight champion in only her eighth professional fight.

But make no mistake, the story is far from over for the rangy fighter who lived in Brinsworth and then Bramley until she was 17.

Now, eight years later, she clearly belongs in the class of Tysie Gallagher, who had put her titles on the line, on Saturday at the Park Community Arena in Sheffield.

Ellie lost on points but gained a lot of respect.

She said she had: "Dared to be great on the big stage. Unfortunately just wasn’t meant to be. My goals and ambitions will always stay the same, the paths just changed slightly. Massive credit to a great champion."

Ellie had started well and was on the front foot for most of the night.

However, Luton's Tysie weaved and then countered with a flurry of punches which clearly impressed the judges.

The counterpunching champion showed steely focus, was deceptive, and hard to hit by the taller opponent.

Fans of the former Brinsworth Junior and Wickersley Comp pupil would probably admit that she'd needed to offer something more compelling and required a KO as the fight drew to a close.

She couldn't find the one significant punch through Gallagher's guard.

At the end, Ellie briefly lifted her hand to beckon forthcoming victory, yet Tysie was already on her coach's shoulders long and welcomed the verdict in her favour: 98-93, 97-93, 97-94.

Fair play to Tysie, who dedicates her career to her mother-in-law who was murdered in January. She now hopes to become Sheffield promoters' GBM Sports' first world champion.

"It's been a tough year, so getting that win is great," she said.

Ellie has time on her side. She is just 25 and has had only a sprinkling of pro fights.

The one-time fitness enthusiast at Swinton's Dragonfoot Kickboxing and Boxing Academy now and trains in one of South Yorkshire's highest-performing gyms (Doncaster's DB Fitness Centre.) She will improve and be seeking other titles soon.

On Saturday's card, fans of Rotherham butcher Taz Nadeem watched him pulverise his seventh professional victim.

It was all wild and, for the visitor, slightly alarming.

The hefty body shots Taz hurled – along with some mistimed overhand efforts – suggested a damaging night in store for Marius Dumitru, who had been back home with his feet up in Romania 48 hours earlier.

Dumitru suffered an ankle injury in the first round, then a cut over his left eye before being floored twice.

A succession of evil hooks meant his night was over in the fifth round.

Taz said: "I have learned a lot, I can take a lot away from that."

He admitted being over-eager early on but realised a more patient approach would prevail.

His coach Jamie Kennedy was pleased his man had seen some action against a late replacement, given that three other potential opponents had failed to take the challenge. Dumitru had only arrived in the UK on Friday.

"We had to calm Taz down a bit, but he did well against a light heavyweight," he said.