Kevin Anderson made it 18 wins out of 18 bouts with a convincing points win against Frenchman Anthony Guillet at the Borough Hall in Hartlepool tonight.

It was a fight that proved ideal preparation for Anderson’s forthcoming British and Commonwealth title defence against Eamonn Magee which will take place at The Ice Rink in Kirkcaldy on the 16th of February next year. Guillet is a southpaw just like the Belfast man, but at 23 and with 22 wins out of 26 fights, he still had the hunger to test Kevin Anderson ahead of what will be one of the domestic showdowns of 2007.

Indeed, last summer Guillet was fighting for the European Welterweight title, a belt that Anderson himself will have his eye on if he can navigate his way through the Magee fight safely. But tonight the Frenchman had no answer to the fast accurate work of Kevin Anderson who cruised to a big points win after threatening to end the fight in the fourth.

Anderson’s domination of the contest began in the first, with Guillet finding it immediately difficult to cope with the Scotsman’s power and speed. Some excellent body shots, particularly from Anderson’s left hand, were clearly troubling Guillet and it looked like they were setting the Kirkcaldy fighter up for a stoppage win.

In the fourth round that stoppage win looked an odds on certainty as Anderson caught the Frenchman with a three punch combination to the head then a big left hook that put Guillet down.

To his credit, Guillet was quick to return to his feet, but he was wobbled again towards the end of the round.

In the fifth too, Anderson’s power was proving too much for his opponent, but in the sixth and seventh he took his foot off the pedal. In the eighth, Anderson turned the heat up again - partly in response to a on-two combo from the Frenchman - but by then it was clear that both boxers would hear the final bell.

Referee Andrew Wright raised Anderson’s hand, awarding him a comprehensive 79-73 points victory. Thoroughly deserved it was too and Kevin Anderson can look back on a very successful year in the boxing ring.

Also in action on the undercard in Hartlepool was Stevie McGuire who faced Blackpool based Slovakian, Richard Turba, who stopped unbeaten Rod Anderton in two just last month.

Turba started the fight in whirlwind mode, throwing everything he had at McGuire who responded with the better work, but in the second he got drawn into a toe to toe battle with the physically bigger Slovakian.

That continued into the third and fourth, but just as it looked as if the better boxing from Stevie McGuire was about to pay dividends, Turba caught him on the chin with a left hook. It left Stevie hanging over the ropes as the round came to a close and in real danger of being stopped.

A stoppage defeat came even closer when Turba put McGuire down at the start of the fifth, but the Kirkcaldy boxer showed real character by coming straight back into the fight, bossing a tiring Turba around the ring.

In the final round, McGuire continued in the ascendancy, throwing quick sharp combinations to finish the fight on a high note.

That fifth round knockdown cost Stevie McGuire his perfect record as a pro, with the referee declaring the contest a draw, 57-57 on points. McGuire probably did enough to nick it, but will have few complaints at the result.

Jamie Coyle’s Light Middleweight contest against Darlington’s Francis Jones ended in disaster for the Scot when the referee called a halt to proceedings in the second round.

Coyle had picked up a freak eye injury in a frantic first round that saw his left eye immediately close completely and in the second the ref decided he was in no fit state to continue and awarded the fight to Jones.

The Englishman started the contest very quickly and looked as if he would score a first round stoppage victory over Jamie by catching him cold just as Karl David did in March. But Coyle has obviously learned his lesson and after weathering a storm of punches he came back with some of his own.

The Bannockburn boxer started the second brightly enough too, demonstrating that he was going to be no pushover for the aggressive smaller Jones, but he was never going to make it to the end of six rounds with his eye injury and the referee did the right thing by calling a halt to proceedings.