Frank Warren thinks Liam Walsh's Commonwealth super-featherweight title defence against Paul Appleby is a contender for fight of the year.

The 25-year-old from Norfolk came back from a seventh-round knockdown to force the Scotsman to retire in the 10th.

"Definitely the domestic fight of the year bar none, they were two true gladiators, it was phenomenal," Warren told BBC Radio Norfolk.

"It was an unbelievable fight, you couldn't have got better."

He added: "I thought he [Walsh] was winning the fight, he was boxing well within himself, but when he got clipped I thought it would be very difficult to come back.

"But he did and won the round. That shows a lot about his character, as much as the skill he's got he's certainly not lacking in heart," he said.

Warren believes it would be harsh if Appleby was not awarded a rematch in the future.

"That's definitely one down the line, at the moment though [Liam] needs a rest, then he'll go out and defend his title, probably in about three or four months time.

"But he needs rest now, that was a gruelling fight, especially in the unseasonal weather at the moment, inside the York Hall was almost like a sauna," he added.