IF Lee McAllister was in any way unnerved by Willie Limond's newly acquired explosive power that ended Eddie Doyle's dream of becoming Commonwealth light-welterweight champion at the St Andrew's Sporting Club on Monday evening, he was displaying no outwards signs of concern yesterday.

McAllister, the previous holder of the belt, praised 33-year-old Limond for the manner of his emphatic win, which was achieved in only one minute and 56 seconds, after he had twice sent Doyle crashing to the canvas in front of a sell-out crowd of 600 who attended the club's 40th anniversary evening.

Yet the Aberdonian, who was forced to relinquish the title because of an arm injury, wasted little time in warning Limond that he only has the belt on loan.

McAllister said: "Willie will have the belt for only a short time. It was an impressive win, but Eddie was like a rabbit caught in the headlights in his first big fight and Willie capitalised on that.

"I was surprised that Willie finished it so quickly, but Eddie lacks his experience and it was evident that he isn't ready to step up into that class. I have every bit as much experience as Willie, though, so he's not going to shock me and show me anything I haven't seen before."

Promoter Tommy Gilmour, who manages both boxers, is keen for the 30-year-old McAllister to have a warm-up bout before he takes on Limond, to rid himself of any ring rustiness.

However, he confirmed: "When Lee relinquished the title, part of the deal was that he would fight the winner of Limond-Doyle. I would envisage him having an eight-rounder first, though, as he is not back in training yet.

"In the meantime, we'll do something with Willie at the Kelvin Hall. The experience he had gained over 39 fights showed the way he jumped on Eddie straight away and knocked him out of his stride. At 10 stone, Willie has a lot to look forward to."

Limond revealed that close family and friends urged him to retire 15 months ago after he suffered a humiliating defeat at the hands of Anthony Crolla when battling for the British lightweight title.

He added: "They were saying that it was time for me to call it a day, but I knew deep down what was up that night, so I'm glad I didn't take their advice. Against Crolla, I was drained at the weight and so flat it was unbelievable but Crolla helped me spar before this fight and this time I felt strong at the weight."

Meanwhile, Gary Cornish, the undefeated 6ft 7in heavyweight from Inverness, recorded his 12th consecutive win in the supporting bout, outscoring the Hungarian Tamas Bajzath, 60-53.