Harlem Eubank was dropped three times in a thrilling defeat to David Papot at the Copper Box in London on Saturday night.
Eubank went down in the second round of the IBF international welterweight title fight, but recovered to score a knockdown of his own in the seventh before being floored twice in a dramatic 10th round, as France's Papot went on to secure an unanimous victory on the judges' scorecards.
Harlem - the nephew of legendary former world champion Chris Eubank - went into the fight as the underdog and showed the resilience and spirit his family is renowned for, but was ultimately outclassed by a superior opponent who may now seek revenge for his only professional loss to Liam Paro.
Eubank went into the fight hoping an upset victory would propel him into a bout with IBF world champion Paro, who defeated Papot last September.
But his hopes suffered a huge blow in the second round as he was dropped by a spiteful left hook from Papot. Eubank missed with a right hand and was punished by a heavy shot which sent him down to both knees before he survived the final 15 seconds of the round.
Papot continued to impose himself in the third round when Eubank suffered a cut above his right eye and the 35-year-old Frenchman continued to impress in the subsequent rounds.
Eubank's frustrations became evident in the fifth when he was given a warning by the referee for grappling - and his issues were compounded by repeatedly slipping on the canvas.
However, he turned things around in the sixth which was arguably the first round he won in the fight, before a stunning seventh-round knockdown.
Eubank caught Papot beautifully with a clipping left hook which put the Frenchman on the floor and the 35-year-old had to dig deep to survive the final minute of the round with his opponent hunting the finish.
Eubank continued to push, but suffered a further cut against his southpaw opponent in the ninth round, this time on his left cheek and things got even worse for the home fighter in a dramatic 10th round.
With Eubank stepping forward, the wily Papot landed another big left hook to put him on the floor for the second time in the fight - and he was dropped for a third time following a flurry of punches later in the round.
Eubank survived the final 50 seconds of the 10th, but went into the final two rounds of the fight seeking a knockout for victory.
The Brighton man fought valiantly, but was ultimately outclassed by Papot who was rightly given the decision by the three judges.
The Frenchman walked away with scores of 115-109, 115-110 and 113-111 and has still only lost once in 33 professional fights with Eubank suffering defeat for just the second time after last summer's unfortunate loss to Jack Catterall.
Watch live boxing on Your Site from 10pm on Sunday July 26 as Edgar Berlanga faces Steven Butler and Richardson Hitchins takes on Ricardo Salas.
