FRANCIS Jones lived up to his nickname of 'Fearless' but was cruelly denied his dream of British welterweight glory on Friday night.

The Darlington boxer lasted all but 40 seconds of a gruelling 12-round contest in Kirkaldy, Scotland, before he was stopped by the referee.

He was on the back foot from the off, but as the rounds wore on Jones' never-say-die attitude saw him edge closer and closer to his goal.

Though he took a fearsome amount of punishment, the 26-year-old doled out plenty of his own.

In round ten, it appeared he was on the verge of winning this war of attrition, but just as he had Anderson looking shaky with a volley of blows, he slipped and fell to the canvas, giving the Scot the breathing space he needed.

Jones continued gamely and by the end both fighters were running on empty, but with the finishing line in the sight, a tirade of head shots proved too much for the referee and he stepped in to call an end to the duel.