Iain Martell proved the injury problems which have plagued the early part of his pro boxing career and are well and truly behind him with a stunning demolition job.

Martell went into his third pro appearance in Norwich on the back of a pair of wins – but each time he had left the ring with a broken hand.

The power was unleashed again at The Halls on Saturday, but this time the only post-fight concerns were for his opponent, the durable Adam Williams from Manchester, who was despatched with a vicious left to the body with just a second of the opening round remaining. Williams fell through the ropes, on to the ringside table occupied by the medical staff and rolled into a chair – next to the doctor.

It put an end to a frustrating eight months out of the ring for Martell – but the smile was soon back on his face.

Martell's fight night-ending punch came after a difficult week for the promoters, who saw two fights called off and were left with four contests – the fact all the boxers involved delivered the goods softened the blow somewhat.

Joe Hurn suffered an injury in training but the biggest problem involved Ipswich heavyweight Fabio Wardley, who, having already had one change of opponent, discovered on Saturday morning that his new opponent had pulled out just hours after agreeing to travel, from Manchester.

'It will take Fabio a week or two to actually get over the disappointment,' said Norwich trainer Graham Everett. 'But he will go again and we will get over the disappointment.'

Joe Payne, from Wisbech, also lost his original opponent for his second pro outing and was fortunate that Duane Green – a stablemate in Everett's gym – agreed to step in at late notice. Payne was a 40:36 winner, his speed of hand and foot too much for the durable Green.

Billy Bird, from Braintree, warmed up for his English super-welterweight middleweight title fight in Ipswich in September, with a good 60:54 win over Jordan Grannum.

However, there was disappointment for local connections when Connor Vian, a Colchester-based paratrooper, lost 58:57 to Ryan Hardy from Sheffield.