Kerry Hope’s reign as European middleweight champion proved to be short lived as Poland’s Grzegorz Proksa gained emphatic revenge in Sheffield.

Hope, 30, upset the odds to claim the belt by scoring a majority decision win over Proksa at the Motorpoint Arena in March, but in the same venue the Welshman came up short as a right hook in round eight from his opponent ended the argument.

Proksa’s professional record moves to 28 wins, with 21 inside the distance, and one defeat, while Hope falls to 17-4.

A sluggish display proved to be the 27-year-old Proksa’s undoing as he was outworked by Hope in their first meeting and from the outset he seemed determined not to make the same mistake.

March’s contest was a blood-stained affair and in the closing seconds of round one tonight a straight left from Proksa opened up a cut above Hope’s right eye.

A thudding overhand left drove Hope towards the ropes in round two but the Merthyr Tydfil man worked his way back in the next session, connecting with a left hook behind the challenger’s ear.

A right hook into a left upper cut marked Proksa’s most eye-catching work of round four and began a pleasing back and forth throughout the middle rounds as both men showed scant regard for defence.

With little to choose between the fighters halfway through the scheduled distance, Proksa assumed the ascendancy in seven, landing a succession of clean headshots.

The end was spectacular when it came, Proksa bursting through Hope’s defences with a vicious right. The champion got back to his feet but referee John Keane correctly ruled he was in no position to continue on unsteady legs.