Englishman

My own Irish accent is so diminished as an Englishman and a Californian.

The Englishman is the favourite against the smaller Benn as a regular middleweight, but says he underwent a difficult weight cut.

He defeated fellow Englishman Hawkins to win a second UK Championship title in December, a success that helped him to break the record for the most prize money won in a single season.

However, the Englishman regrouped after the mid-session pause and made a century break as he took three of the remaining five frames to limit the damage prior to Tuesday afternoon's concluding session.

The 33-year-old Englishman recovered to win the next six frames in succession, making a 136 break in the eighth to add to three earlier half-centuries.