A delighted Bartley, who thanked major sponsors Valley Steel and the Jolly Frog for their support, said his first professional title ranked above the three he won as an amateur and his Golden Gloves triumph.

"It's a much better win for me," he said yesterday.

"As you get older, I look back at the amateurs and think they're a bit overrated - you don't realise just how tough the pros are before you become one, so this victory is a much better feeling.

"It has sunk a bit, it's still a shock to the system, but I feel good and happy with myself, I'm still a bit sore, but what I got for it at the end of the day, I feel great.

"I felt that when he came at me I turned around and went straight back after him - we both wanted it and neither of us let up, it was two good fighters going at it."

"(The Omongos loss) was more the ref's fault, but coming off that loss it was a good turnaround to win a State title at my next fight."

Bartley said Kennedy would get a rematch if he wanted it, or he would turn his attention to the Australian Welterweight Title currently held by undefeated Victorian Oyewale Omatoso, who has knocked out 11 of his 13 opponents.

Earlier, Joel Brunker improved his pro record to 9-0 and finetuned himself for his Australian title shot with a tough split decision points victory over Liverpool's tenacious Roel Mangan.

In what turned out to be his toughest fight, Brunker, 23, was push- ed all the way by Mangan, who picked up a 57-57 draw on Christian's scorecard, the first time anyone had taken more than two rounds off him in his pro career.

But the other two judges, Plellis (59-55) and Reed (60-54) were convincingly for Brunker, who was just that bit cleaner and more accurate with his punches when it mattered the most.

Mangan did manage to open a cut above Brunker's eye at the end of the second round and stalked him throughout the first three rounds, but the home town hero's defence stood firm, and then the body shots started landing.

The fight lifted in intensity as it neared its conclusion and Brunker caught a couple of good shots, but he handled them well to claim the victory in what was a good final tune-up for the fight against Ernie Gonzales Jnr for the vacant Australian featherweight title at Blacktown Workers Club on August 14.

The fight will be shown live on Fox Sports, or tickets can be obtained by calling 9622 5222.

Meanwhile, a shattered Ryan Stinson was unlucky not to record a maiden victory when he copped a huge shot from Jurland Ceniza and was stopped after 43 seconds of the third round after having been in control of the contest.

In the amateur bouts, Truemann Robb broke through for a unanimous points win over Zeb King, but Alex Mercer and debutant Matthew Jackett lost tight contests on points.