OLLIE Pinnock enjoyed a professional debut to remember both inside the ring and out at York Hall on Saturday night.

The Leigh based 33-year-old convincingly saw off his experienced opponent Bheki Mayo on points.

And that came after Pinnock had surprisingly met one of his biggest boxing heroes Ricky Hatton in his dressing room.

“It was very surreal to say the least when I walked into my dressing room to find Ricky Hatton sitting there,” laughed Pinnock.

“He is one of my boxing idols and I have followed his career from the beginning.

“My coach Kevin Campion was co-promoting the show and knew what a fan I was so arranged for me to share dressing rooms with him as he had a few fighters on the show.

“It’s something that I will never forget but to be honest I was so star struck I was like a kid around him and could barely talk.

“It was fantastic to meet him and fantastic to win the fight too.”

Pinnock had originally been due to make his professional debut last September but was forced to delay the fight after breaking his left hand.

However, the welterweight made up for lost time at the weekend with an impressive display which left him delighted.

“I was very pleased to get such a convincing win on my debut,” said Pinnock.

“The judges gave me every round 40-36 but I felt they missed a knockdown in round one when his gloves touched the canvas after a short left hook.”

But, despite being happy with the win, Pinnock still believes there is room for improvement.

“I’ve looked back at the video and there were lots of things I did well but also lots of things I can do better,” said Pinnock.

“Overall though, it went as well as it could have and I had a great crowd there making lots of noise as I had sold more 150 tickets.”

Pinnock will next be fighting in mid-June when he returns to York Hall.

And he is determined to start making a name for himself.

“My long turn ambitions are to work my way towards a British title fight within three or four years,” said Pinnock.

“Winning the Lonsdale belt would be my World Cup but hopefully I can pick up a southern area and English title along the way too.

“But I'm definitely not here to make up the numbers.

“The Ringmaster will cause a few waves in British boxing over the next year or so, mark my words.”