ROSS Cooksey continued his perfect start to his professional career with victory over Jamie Quinn.

Cooksey earned a points verdict in a four-round contest at Wigan’s Robin Park Arena on Saturday night to make it three wins out of three on the pro circuit.

The 25-year-old Barrow Amateur Boxing Club product had to deal with a late change of opponent, with Stockport boxer Quinn stepping in after Michael Barnor pulled out.

This was the second time Ghanaian Barnor has had to pull out of a scheduled bout with Cooksey. And with the withdrawal coming just a couple of days before the fight, it brought a lot of disruption for Cooksey and his team.

The change of opponent also meant Cooksey - who usually operates at super-bantamweight or featherweight – had to move up a few weight categories to take on the 27-year-old Quinn, a veteran of 50 fights.

That made the task harder for the South Cumbrian fighter, but he produced an accomplished display, much to the satisfaction of his coaching team from Jimmy Egan’s Manchester stable and his travelling support from Barrow.

Cooksey took to social media shortly after the fight to thanks his fans, coaches and sponsors.

“We got the win tonight against a tough man and gave away quite a bit of weight, but that couldn’t be helped as it was a late opponent replacement,” said Cooksey.

He added: “I just want to thank everyone who bought tickets and made the trip down to Wigan.

“Without your support nights like these aren’t possible, so once again I can’t thank you all enough and I really do appreciate it.”

He added of his coaching team: “I couldn’t ask for better. Behind the scenes this week there was panic with a change of opponent, but my team did their best to make sure I was on tonight and the main thing is all the hard work put in by everyone was worthwhile.

“Getting the win, and learning while doing it, means everything.

“A massive thank-you needs to go to my sponsors who are helping me massively on this journey as a pro.”

Cooksey is hoping to back in action very soon – possibly on November 10 - before which he will be helping out Jeff Moses and the Barrow ABC team at their annual show a The Nines on November 4.