Promoter Tommy Conroy had this week announced that the pair would contest the Northern Area light-middleweight title in Sunderland in the autumn.

And last night the Neil Fannan-trained star immediately made himself favourite for the championship when he inflicted a third-round stoppage at the Stadium of Light show last night.

It was Ashworth's third win since signing for Fannan and certainly the most impressive.

Farmer, the Liverpool-born light-middleweight who is now living in Hartlepool, looked sharp enough in the first of the scheduled six two-minute rounds.

But Ashworth, born in Stockton but now living in Scarborough, was always looking to force the issue.

And after that relatively even first round, Ashworth stepped up his challenge.

Farmer took a punch to the face in the opening seconds of the second round which had him staggering back against the ropes. Seconds later the Conroy fighter was forced to take a standing count after slipping to the canvas under a flurry of Ashworth blows.

But the fall, when it came, looked more down to a stumble than a punch and he recovered well to finish the round steadily.

The scene looked set for a real contest between the two men but the fight finished suddenly, one minute 21 seconds into the third round when Farmer lost to a technical knock-out.

Ashworth had scented blood after the that second round and came out all guns blazing looking to capitalise.

Farmer looked relatively untroubled in the opening seconds but his opponent was raining down blows and increasingly he struggled to fend them off.

The first minute of the third had just passed when Farmer took blows to the head, once then twice and was already on his way down as Ashworth closed in for the kill.

Farmer hit the canvas hard and that was all that trainer Conroy needed to know. The Sunderland fight figure was quickly into the ring and Farmer had lost to a technical knockout.

There was no way he could have continued though and the dazed fighter received attention in his corner for several minutes before being led out of the ring.

He received attention from doctors after exiting ringside but was given a clean bill of health before leaving the ground.

In the main event at the Stadium of Light, Paul 'The Mackem' Holborn lifted the first belt of his career when he saw off Sheffield's Dwayne Hill to claim the vacant Masters International Lightweight title, 97-96 after 10 tough rounds.