Dagenham featherweight Nicky Cook tonight (June 16) proved to be a cut above the nine-stone domestic class as he scorched the now former British champion Dazzo Williams with a scything left hook to the body in the second round of a scheduled 12 at the Goresbrook Leisure Centre. The hometown hero added Williams' coveted Lonsdale strap to his collection of Commonwealth and European honours, and in merely four minutes of action catapulted himself into a potential WBO title barnburner against Glasgow's Scott Harrison.

Promoter Jess Harding, in the post-fight interview, beamed: "Nicky Cook is the best featherweight in the country. He's ready for a WBO title fight and if Scott Harrison wants to fight Nicky we don't have a problem with it." Cheeky chappy Cook, for his part, looked as though he could stand toe-to-toe with Harrison merely minutes after scoring his most impressive result to date. The 25-year-old triple-champ joked: "It's about time a good-looking featherweight held that WBO title."

Aesthetics aside, Cook looked pretty damn good inside the ropes with his fists for the best part of two rounds, as he set about Williams from the off with a merciless body assault and surprisingly spiteful left lead. The ebb and flow of the opening three rounds suggested a one-sided battle that the pre-fight opinion didn't seem to sway towards.

The younger, unbeaten and arguably hungrier Cook, who had benefited from an extensive training camp in Tenerife, from the get-go marched Williams down and plunged a series of hurtful looking left and right hooks to the British champion's ribcage. Nicky's bodywork reeked of relentlessness. Neglecting to throw just singular shots to the mid-region, Cook would set-up his attacks with the jab, and then whip in sets of twos and threes to Williams' reddening sides.

Williams wasn't to be outdone as early as the first round, however, and spat defiance in the form of some well-placed left hooks to the body of his own. With only three stoppages from 12 pro career wins, though, the powerful body blows being mustered in the ring weren't too difficult to spot. After all, Cook had bludgeoned skilful ex European champion Cyril Thomas to a painful demise inside nine rounds to win his current European title, almost exclusively with excruciating body digs. Cook's one of the best British body-bangers not named Ricky Hatton.

Williams, a competent British champion who has partaken in some of the most enjoyable nine stone battles of the past two years, isn't in Thomas' league, and it appeared, following Cook's opening round onslaught, the supposed competitive edge the bout carried beforehand was being sapped away bit by bit. Cook looked massive at the 126 lb weight limit, towering over Williams, who usually enjoys significant height and reach advantages in title matches.

Scott Harrison's well-documented physical advantages saw him scrap to a fourth round stoppage of British rival Michael Brodie two weeks ago in Manchester, and Cook appeared to be on the verge of something similar. Putting Nicky's success down to merely physique would be doing his shot variety, left lead, and hellacious body shots a disservice, however.

Dazzo Williams will attest to Cook's quality, no doubt. Dazzo came out firing in the second round, targeting Cook's body, as they both stood their ground in the centre of the ring hammering in well-placed blows. Cook's appeared to be the tighter, better-schooled, more decisive shots, and while Williams would often loop his right hand or left hook, Nicky was sharp to the core.

The hometowner was thinking in there, too. He wasn't just reeling off body combo after body combo hoping to break the will, heart and then ribs of Williams. There was a composed air to Cook's work as he began and finished each combination with a piercing jab, and whipped in body shots behind the high held elbows of Williams as he retreated.

That was the recipe that eventually landed Cook the coupe-de-grace as he sunk in a sickening left hook to Williams' ribs that felled the proud domestic champion to the canvas where he stayed for the full 10 count from referee John Keane. With many pre-fight predictions tipping Cook by late stoppage or on the cards, his quick-fire performance will certainly make a few sit up and take note of the unbeaten, go-getting young titlist who now possesses the three most prestigious championships outside of the genuine world titles on the market.

Ranked at No.3 by the WBO, four by the WBC and 12 by the IBF, Cook can now depart the nine-stone domestic scene and look immediately for a shot at WBO king Scott Harrison by the end of the year. Whether a man who appears on the brink of landing a money-spinning world title fight against the consensus number one featherweight on the planet Juan Manuel Marquez, would entertain a young upstart like Cook remains to be seen. In a way, it's a shame Michael Brodie exerted the last drop of his warrior-juice in succumbing to Harrison a fortnight ago. Brodie-Cook would have been a body-punchers paradise. Cook improves to 25-0 (17) as Williams falls to 12-3 (3).