Glasgow boxer Kash Farooq was over the moon to receive his Scottish Bantamweight title from Hibernian manager Neil Lennon, after watching him strut his stuff for Celtic as a child from the Parkhead stands.

Lennon was guest of honour at the St Andrew’s Boxing Club event at Glasgow’s Radisson Blu on Thursday evening, as Farooq retained the Scottish belt by seeing off the challenge of Shotts fighter Scott Allan in a thrilling rematch.

“It was an honour to have Neil Lennon in there,” Farooq said. “When I was a young boy I used to watch him playing for Celtic, so it was an honour to shake his hand and receive the Scottish title from him.”

Farooq has now set his sights on the British bantamweight title after he got his second victory in succession over his opponent, his greater level of technical skill overcoming a game effort from Allan.

And Farooq reckons that the eighth-round stoppage showed that he was a class above the 25-year-old.

“People were saying this and that, but I knew I had this in the bag,” he said. “I trained far too hard for it and sacrificed too much. Wherever I go to I deserve it.

“I think I am a different class to him. I don’t mean any disrespect by that, he’s a nice guy, but honestly, I was just ready for him.

“The first time he came prepared, and even more so this time, but I’m levels above him. I’m young, I’m just 21, and now I’m moving on.

“It was a wee bit of a harder fight this time, because he did come prepared and he had done some good sparring, but I was just too hungry.

“When he was away in Las Vegas I was just at home training hard, I’m always training, so I’m always ready for whatever is coming.

“A fighter that is wild against me, you’re never going to hit me. You need to be clever, you need to take your time with me.

“He was just gunning for that one-punch knockout, and he was never going to get it. It would take him all year to look for that punch and he still won’t get me.

“I just wanted to prove that the first fight wasn’t a fluke. I knew myself that it wasn’t.

“This fight put it to bed, and it shouldn’t even have happened. I beat him out the park the first time, and this time I had more experience.

“I showed my ferocity in the ring.”

Allan was devastated when his corner threw in the towel with blood gushing from his nose and with their fighter taking some serious punishment, but Farooq says they made the right call.

“I thought it was the right decision to throw in the towel, and his corner were right to pull their fighter out,” he said.

“It only takes one round or one minute for a fighter to get hurt. It was the right decision, and the stoppage was coming.”

The 21-year-old is now leaving his next step in the hands of manager Ian Wilson, but he won’t be wasting any time getting back into the gym to prepare for his next bout, whatever that may be.

“I’m just a fighter, that’s all I do, I don’t sign contracts or anything like that,” he said. "All I do is train and fight, but at the end of the day, if any opportunity comes around I’ll take it.

“I’ll be straight back into the gym and be training non-stop really until I retire, because I don’t want to be around too long in boxing.

“After you provide for your household, you want to spend time with your family and friends.

“It’s been hard for me. I’ve sacrificed that since I was 15 years old, I’ve given it my all and I won’t get that back, but I think it’s paying off.”