Mitchell Leek scored a thrilling victory over Jack Brubaker, Miller beat Sheehan in another.

Australian middleweight champion Mitchell Leek (11-0, 5 KOs) retained his title in his first defense with a thrilling 10-round decision win over Jack Brubaker (18-6-2, 8 KOs) at The Melbourne Pavilion in Flemington, Victoria . , in Australia on Wednesday night.

The fight is a step up in class for Leek, 24, who had gone 10 rounds once in his previous fight against Adrian Rodriguez (13-9-2, 6 KOs) for a national title shot last month. Leek shut down Rodriguez, who was riding a five-fight winning streak.

Natural welterweight Brubaker, 32, who was making his 160-pound debut, brought a level of experience and knowledge to the ring that the younger Leek had never encountered before. Brubaker’s three previous losses have matched the quality of the trio of Tim Tszyu, Nikita Tszyu and Steve Spark.

Every battle in Brubaker’s professional career has been a battle, and Leek’s battle proved to be no exception.

After the obligatory feel-out round, Leek made the first real move late in the second, scoring a flash knockdown with a left hook after a right to the body in a round that Brubaker was otherwise winning.

The action intensified in the third and fourth. Leek came in strong, firing a shot to the head as Brubaker hit his guard. The opponent played by switching to the southpaw but did not use the shoe for a long time. Brubaker suffered damage to his right eye from an accidental head-on collision in fourth place.

Leek eats the solids left over from Brubaker. (Photo by Royale Creator)

The two-way action continued in the middle when Leek fired an eye-catching shot but Brubaker kept it close. By the end of the sixth, Leeks was looking frustrated and a little tired.

The seventh was another very good round as both fighters looked to control the fight. The bombs on the right were sold in metal.

Brubaker tried the southpaw trick again at the start of the eighth but quickly realized that Leek was not willing to fall into his trap. Despite showing signs of slowing down early, Leek found his second wind, forcing Brubaker to the ropes. He continued to attack throughout the round in what was arguably his best period to date, landing devastating punches with his opponent on the back foot.

The youth ended up winning as Leek outpointed Brubaker for 10 laps. (Photo by Royale Creator)

In the ninth, it was Brubaker who was tiring and Leek took advantage, firing hard as he shot his opponent to the ropes. Leek continued to dominate in the 10th round, opening with a big right hand to Brubaker’s mustache and continuing to unleash his arsenal from there until the final bell.

When the dust settled, Leek was victorious with scores of 98-91, 99-90 and 99-90, but the scores did not reflect the competitiveness of the fight.

“I thought I hurt him, but he hit me a few times and I thought there was almost no need to trade with him, because he can punch, so I went back to boxing. It was a good fight,” said Leek.

Brubaker fans will be disappointed to hear that it may be the last time they see him in the ring.

“This man is a true champion,” said Brubaker. “He’s a big, strong guy and I’m interested in the challenge of letting me come down here and fight.

“I started my fight with him [trainer] Ryan [Waters] and it’s fun to finish it with him. I am not sure if I will fight again. I will have a word with my family. These little guys, they have a lot of ticker on them.”

The reigning national champion couldn’t be more complimentary of his defeated rival.

“Everybody here, can you all stand up and give Jack a round of applause,” said Leek. “If he ends up here, he deserves more than that, so give him a round of applause. He is a true champion.

“He deserves the belt. He deserves an Australian title. He has been in the ring with Tim, and Nikita. Man, you are a hero. He gave everything he had tonight and took it all out on me. I had to give it my all and he is a true champion himself.

“I have to keep improving. I never got into the game like most of these guys did. I’ve only been on it for a short time. We’re going to go back to the drawing board now and work hard and keep improving, and that’s what this game is all about.”

In a super-supporting fight, Australian light heavyweight champion Lucas “Thriller” Miller (12-6-2, 4 KOs) retained his title for the third time with a first-round knockout of Matt “The Machine” Sheehan (10-3), 7 KOs ).

At 35 years old and coming off a 10-round unanimous decision loss in his Austrian light heavyweight title fight against Driton Isenaj (9-0, 4 KOs) in Vienna last April – yes, you read that right – Miller was considered . the underdog gets into trouble.

Not only that, Miller was seen as a boxer facing a puncher. Sheehan, 32, had his first belt since losing by knockout to Conor Wallace (13-1, 10 KOs) in July last year.

Wallace’s loss can easily be explained as being caught cold by another southpaw, known for packing dynamite in his mitts. Losing to Miller – another lefty – not so much. It was Miller’s first bankruptcy win in nearly eight years.

The opening bell was still ringing in the ears of the crowd as Miller placed a left cross to the temple. Sheehan went down, injured. His legs were limp when he stood up, and referee Anthony Hibbs gave him a good look before allowing him to continue.

The war will not last long.

Miller connected with another sweeping left hand, followed by a right uppercut. Sheehan’s legs are tight. A final left cross landed on his jaw, and just as his body began to crumble to the canvas, Hibbs stepped in to stop the contest.

Official stoppage time was 1:20 of the first frame.

“You may not believe it, but we actually planned exactly what we did,” Miller said of his strategy coming into the fight. “We saw that he didn’t bite me too much, so I sneaked two behind.

“I threw the one-two and it came out. He went to bite once and it came out. All the hard work and training has paid off.”

As for his future plans, Miller plans to take some time off after suffering five concussions in the past 12 months.

“Next is a good rest, man,” he said. “I’ll see what my team has to say and we’ll come back … I’m always willing to get a tough challenge and I’m ready for anybody.”

After Miller put his hands on Sheehan, they embraced when the contest ended.

“I have a lot of respect for Matt,” Miller said. “I told him that I love him and that he is a hero.”

Four fights at club level made up the Team Ellis program which was broadcast live in the country on the free-to-air streaming service 7plus under the Premier Boxing Series banner.