ALLOA boxer Darin Reid paid tribute to his late dad after smashing his way to a third professional victory on Saturday.

The 28-year-old claimed an emphatic first-round stoppage, after a little more than a minute, against Alireza Alimohammadi at the Grangemouth Sports Complex on Saturday.

However, the win was all that little bit sweeter as he was competing on his dad's birthday, who recently passed away.

Alan Reid, known for his role as karaoke host Johnny Midnight, was a popular character in the Wee County.

He died last month following a battle with cancer, with hundreds later attending his funeral service at Alloa Town Hall.

Alan made it along to Darin's previous fight – points victory at the Albert Halls in Stirling back in March – and was said to have been overjoyed to see his son succeed on the night.

Though he wasn't able to attend at the weekend, Darin honoured his father's memory by entering the ring to one of his popular karaoke tunes, sporting a t-shirt tribute to the Late Great Johnny Midnight.

Darin told the Advertiser: "The run up to the fight just flew in; I had a million things going through my mind, with all that had happened recently.

"The family has just kind of been there for each other. But it was good to have gotten that win for my dad's birthday.

"I selected Neil Diamond's Cracklin' Rosie to walk down to the ring to because that was one of his songs.

"I was trying to block things out as much as I could and concentrate on the fight. It's hard not to let these things get in your head but I just wanted to focus on my boxing."

He added: "Everybody who came along to watch were brilliant too; I've always got the loudest crowd from all those coming from Alloa.

"I'd also like to thank my sponsors Buchan Town Cars for their support. It's quite a dear game this and they've been very good to me, helping me out."

Darin's step-mum Louise, Alan's wife, said the evening was emotional for the family, with the boxing community also paying their respects.

"He done his dad proud," she said. "You could see from the minute he came out that he was determined. He wasn't mucking about; the other poor lad didn't know what had hit him.

"He had a lot of support through with him. It was emotional for us, but a great night at the same time. There was even a tribute to Alan in the event's programme – Happy Birthday Johnny Midnight.

"There was this feeling that someone was missing; I know Alan would have loved to have been there.

"His dad would have been proud. He's always been proud of all of his family."

The fight itself was over in just one minute and four seconds, with the referee stopping the fight, and Darin is now setting his sights on landing Scottish title bout in the near future.

Speaking about Saturday's opponent, he said: "He was a bit of an unknown entity because I didn't know anything about him other than he had boxed amateur in Iran.

"I done exactly what my coaches had told me to, basically. Work behind my jab and if I landed any clean shots that he looked hurt by then I was just to follow it up with volume.

"That's what I done and the referee stepped in."

He added: "I'm hoping to be fighting again in September and there's going to be a big show in Alloa on November 5.

"And by next year, I am looking to be pressing for some domestic titles. I just need to get as many fights as I can to keep me on track."