Trainer Chris Aston reckons Shaun Doherty is "finding his feet" in the pro game after an impressive win in Stoke.

The Bradford fighter, son of former Lonsdale belt holder John, claimed his second paid-for success with a confident 59-54 verdict at super-bantamweight over local opponent Imran Khan.

Doherty got caught by a couple of early left hooks as he tried to gauge his range but spent most of the six-rounder on top against a useful opponent.

The sheer volume of Doherty's shots caught the eye of referee Sean Messer, although he was also warned for punching to the back of the head in the fourth.

Doherty's work rate never dipped and he nailed Khan with a thudding right hook in the fifth, forcing the home fighter to take the count.

Sensing the stoppage, he piled into Khan's midriff and probably would have finished it had he varied the attack more and gone for the head.

The bell came to Khan's aid but he was well adrift and did his best to steer clear of danger in the final round with Doherty emerging the clear winner.

Aston said: "It's all about staying busy with these fighters and you can see Shaun is finding his feet at last.

"There are plenty of fights out there, if not local, and a win away like this looks good on your record.

"It's all part of the learning process, win or lose. We knew Khan could obviously dig a bit but once Shaun had got his bearings sorted, he never really caught him.

"You could see Shaun using a bit of savvy and it was a very good all-round performance."

Meanwhile, Jamil Hussain has been given a shot at the British Masters bantamweight belt in Wales next month.

The Bradford big-hitter takes on unbeaten hometown prospect Matthew Edmonds at Newport on June 16.

Hussain returns to the ring after giving a strong account of himself in a points defeat to Jason Booth three months ago.

Aston said: "Edmonds is 4-0 and was a decent amateur but this is a good fight for Jamil. The winner will probably be in a position to challenge for the British title.

"He did himself no harm in the Booth fight even though he lost and this is a real chance to put Jamil in the firing line."