Hogan produces superb performance to beat Japanese opponent and stay on track for world title fight

Boxing in what was essentially a bout that would decide which fighter may get a shot at a world title in the early stages of 2018, Kildare native Dennis Hogan produced one of the best performances of his career in Australia on Saturday night.

The Kilcullen man faced experienced Japanese fighter Yuki Nonaka in Brisbane in a 10-round light middleweight bout, and despite receiving a big enough cut just above his eye in the sixth round, Hogan steamed home to a big points win on the judges' cards.

It was a pivotal fight for the 32-year-old emigrant who has been based in Australia for seven years, and the prospects of him facing either Liam Smith or Liam Williams for what could be a vacant world title next year have heightened after beating a boxer who hadn't tasted defeat since 2009.

39-year-old Nonaka controlled the first round by using his reach advantage to tag Hogan on a number of occasions, but by the second stanza it was the Lilywhite who began to work his way inside to land a couple of telling shots to the head of the world number eight.

Hogan kept control of the fight over the next two rounds by countering well every time Nonaka looked to dictate matters, but a messy fifth round saw both boxers tangle legs on occasion.

A sixth round blow to the head opened up Hogan, and the blood continued to gush from above his eyebrow for the remainder of the bout, but a mixture of impressive combinations and some good footwork ensured that the Brisbane-based boxer would remain on top.

Nonaka needed a knockout blow in the final round and came out swinging some big punches, but Hogan held him back impressively to ease through the last three minutes and take the contest as he was a 100-90 winner with two judges, while a third judge scored it 99-91 in his favour.

The WBO light middleweight belt could become vacant in December if, as expected, Puerto Rico's Miguel Cotto hangs up his gloves after a fight against Sadim Ali at Madison Square Gardens.