BRADFORD boxer Darren Tetley took his professional record to 20 wins from as many fights after a second-round stoppage over Arnoldo Solano.

Tetley twice put down the Nicaraguan in the second round, the latter of which forced the intervention of referee Andy Brook.

The Holme Wood fighter had opened with a quiet first round against the awkwardly-moving Solano, before his pressure in the second opened a cut around Solano’s eye, with the finish coming with 27 seconds left of the round.

“This fight wasn’t just about a win,” said Tetley, speaking after last Friday's bout. “Even if I’d have stopped him in a scrappy way, I wouldn’t have been happy.

“In the first round, I was chasing him a little bit but Mick (Marsden, trainer) said to me, ‘You know that he’s going to move to the right, because he always moved to the right first, so just make him move but stay in range.’

“I did that, caught him with a shot which hurt, and capitalised on that. I think his eye was cut, he started dabbing it and, the second you do that, it’s like blood to a shark.

“I think that the way I finished it, I didn’t think I rushed it or got scrappy. I stuck to some decent boxing.”

The bout took place at the Elland Road Pavilion and was Tetley’s first contest in Leeds since his WBO European title victory over Mason Cartwright at the Elland Road Stadium almost two years ago.

Since then, the major fights have failed to materialise. One name that has been mooted for 26-year-old Tetley - a recent recruit to management giant MTK Global - is former British champion Tyrone Nurse.

“The money they offered at the beginning was terrible,” Tetley explained of the Nurse fight. “Then, they come back with another (offer), which we accepted, (but) then the MTK deal came.

“As a fighter, I’ve got to do what’s best for me. What’s better for me, fighting Tyrone Nurse or signing with MTK? I think it’s signing with MTK.

“The first offer was £2,500. To put that into context, I got £3,000 for tonight.

“They came back and offered £6,000, which I didn’t think was enough to fight him, especially with MTK coming in.

“I’m not saying it will never happen, but at this stage in my career, I didn’t think it was the right move to make.”

With the backing of MTK - who manage several big names in the sport, including Tyson Fury - Tetley is hoping to make a name for himself this year.

He said: “I’ve got brilliant backing now with MTK and if they can’t get me the (big) fights, then who can?”