While Agyarko was now enjoying much more success than before, there was still a sense he could have upped it a little more as Kelly was doing enough to break even and while both raised their fist in triumph at the final bell, it was Kelly who got the nod.

“I thought it was close going into the fifth or sixth, could have been one up to him or level,” Agyarko said.

“In the second half when I started holding my feet and letting my hands go, I think I took over. He had the point taken off as well.

“No excuses from me, I wasn’t good enough tonight and I lost. Well done to Josh – he’s a great champion, very tricky and awkward. I did think I won but it wasn’t good enough for the judges and I have no complaints.”

Kelly’s win was his ninth in succession following his sole career reverse in 2021 to David Avanesyan and he had words of encouragement for the Belfast man after what he described a “messy, hard fight”.

“Don’t take it as a loss, take it as a learn,” said Kelly.

“That was a huge fight for him, his second 12-round fight and he learned a lot in there. He’ll come back but has to show how much he wants it, bounce back from his loss like I did five or six years ago. That’s the true heart of a champion.”

NEW YORK — The short list of reasons to keep watching New York Mets games further shrunk Saturday when the struggling club placed star left fielder Juan Soto on the 10-day injured list because of a left calf strain.

Soto, who leads the National League in OPS (.947) and has hit 21 home runs, previously missed two and a half weeks in April because of a right calf strain.

The new calf injury — labeled a Grade 2 strain — is expected to force him out of action for a longer period of time.

“It’s not what we were hoping for,” Mets interim manager Andy Green said.

Green wouldn’t provide an estimate on how many weeks Soto was expected to miss, but guessed the amount of time could fall somewhere between Soto’s last injury and how long Francisco Lindor was sidelined with a calf issue. Lindor was out for approximately eight weeks. There are just two months remaining in the season.

A rash of lower-body injuries hit the Mets hard this year. In addition to Soto and Lindor’s ailments, Francisco Alvarez dealt with a torn meniscus and Jorge Polanco battled an Achilles issue.

“It’s a frustrating set of circumstances,” Green said. “Definitely something we’ll reflect on and see if there’s anything that jumps out. At this present moment, it feels unlucky to a degree and it hasn’t been the same mechanism for each player.”

Soto’s absence opens up more time at designated hitter for Polanco, who hasn’t found his rhythm at the plate after spending most of his time on the injured list. The Mets’ goal is for Polanco to eventually see some action at first base, where Jared Young typically plays.

Without Soto in the outfield, the Mets can continue to showcase Luis Robert Jr. as a trade candidate while keeping rookie standouts A.J. Ewing and Carson Benge at corner spots. The Mets hold a club option on Robert for next season worth $20 million. Ahead of the Aug. 3 trade deadline, some teams have expressed some interest in acquiring him.

The Mets (43-61) are in sell mode. By the time Soto is ready to rejoin them, it will be worth wondering if it is even worthwhile for him to do so. Soto, 27, is in the second year of a 15-year deal worth $765 million.

“We are all cognizant of his long-term importance to us,” Green said. “And we will factor that in appropriately. It’s also good for healthy baseball players to get on the field and play baseball. So we’ll balance that when the time comes.”

Defending champion Luke Littler strolled into the World Matchplay final with a 17-5 demolition of unseeded Dirk van Duijvenbode in Blackpool.

The world number one raced in an 8-2 advantage and was averaging 117.10 and on course to beat Phil Taylor’s tournament match average record of 114.99

Littler admitted afterwards that distracted him and his level did drop slightly as he finished with an average just below 111.

However, that leaves him well placed to beat Taylor’s tournament average of 106.31, with Littler’s currently at 110.88.

The teenager’s victory also means he has now amassed more than £3m in the PDC’s order of merit, and is more than £2m clear of world number two Luke Humphries.

Littler will face Wales’ Gerwyn Price in Sunday’s final after he beat Netherlands’ Gian van Veen 17-10.

Sunday’s final gets under way at 20:05 BST, with the Women’s World Matchplay taking place in the afternoon session from 13:00 – Beau Greaves and defending champion Lisa Ashton the top two seeds.