Morrison, flanked by fight boss Vinnie McWilliams and a hardy bunch of supporters, made the trip to Motherwell’s Rivals Centre for the WBC International fight with French star Abdoul Toure on Friday night. With the solar eclipse earlier in the day it just so happened that the stars aligned for the up-and-coming fight prospect as he dominated his opponent over the course of the five round contest to be crowned WBC International Champion.

The champ told Barrhead Sport: “I’m buzzing after that result.

“I wanted to go out and see if I could cut it at world level and I’ve just proved to myself that I can. Not only did I compete with one of the world’s best fighters but I was strong and dominant throughout.

“I don’t want to be disrespectful but I don’t really think I came out of second gear. I could have been a lot more aggressive but I wanted to keep it composed. My tactics were being successful so we decided to keep it steady rather than anything too risky.” With the belt around his waist and his arms aloft, Friday night’s victory marked the fulfilment of a long-time ambition for Morrison. With another win in the record books, Morrison admits he couldn’t have done it all without his trusty team outside the ring.

He added: “I’ve also won the coveted WBC belt which has always been a big ambition of mine.

“I will have a week off training and get straight back to it. I’m sure my manager is close to securing another massive fight for me so it will be back to the grind before I know it.

“I would just like to take this opportunity to thank my coach Lloyd Cochran for everything he has done for me, the training has been second to none. Also a massive thank you to my main sponsors at Musclebound, again training wouldn’t be as easy if it wasn’t for Kad at Musclebound.” Morrison’s manager Vinnie McWilliams now reckons his man is set for the top of the sport.

He said: “I am absolutely over the moon at the performance JR put in and I couldn’t be any prouder.

“It has been a dream of his to win a WBC title and he’s only went and done it against one of the best fighters in the world.

“A lot of people had JR written off in this fight and we certainly were the underdogs on paper but it was a risk I was willing to take.

“I was confident in his ability and more importantly he was confident in himself.

“This win now makes my job a bit easier when it comes to making bigger fights and trust me we are working on some massive fights for him — this year is going to be massive.” He continued: “JR has shown what hard work and dedication can do.

“He is a credit to this community and a great role model for our upcoming generation.”