Bradford-based Mark Hobson vowed he would be back after seeing his world title dreams crash in nine rounds at Liverpool Olympia last night.

Hobson, who fights out of the Parks Gym at Wibsey, had recovered from a third-round knockdown by WBU cruiserweight champion Sebastiaan Rothmann, but was tiring rapidly.

And when a damaged nose was supplemented by a gash along the left eyelid, manager Chris Aston pulled his man out.

''He was relentless,'' said the 24-year-old Hobson. ''I just couldn't keep him off. I thought I'd be able to keep him at range, but I couldn't. He was a lot better than I'd expected.''

South African Rothmann, the 26-year-old son of a diplomat, making his fourth defence of the crown, paid due tribute to his game opponent.

''He was certainly up for it and made it hard for me,'' said Rothmann, who would love a showdown with his WBO counterpart, Sheffield's Johnny Nelson.

''Hobson fought very well in rounds three, four and five in particular,'' said the champion. ''But the longer it went the easier it got. That's the advantage of training at altitude.''

In the chief support, Liverpool cabby Alex Moon kept the local fans happy with a 118-111 victory over colourful Australian Karim Nashar for a successful first defence of the Commonwealth super-featherweight title.