The 25-year-old from Cardiff established his jab early in the fight and the taller Truscott quickly became disconcerted.

Buckland, who won Prizefighter before beating Gary Sykes again to take the belt last year, almost scored a knockdown in the second round with a big right hand with only the ropes saving his opponent.

The champion's greater hunger and desire were evident from the outset and easily nullified any threat from Truscott, who was happy to allow Buckland to take the centre of the ring.

The sheer volume of punches kept the man Middlesbrough on the ropes for long periods, and by the midway point Truscott already had the air of a defeated man.

Pleas from the corner to work behind the jab fell on deaf ears as Truscott continued to take heavy punishment, dropping to one knee in the 10th after a left upstairs followed by a body shot.

Superiority

The challenger showed little inclination to fight on but he did eventually hear the final bell, where scores of 119-109, 120-108 and 118-110 reflected Buckland's superiority.

"The plan was to take it to him but he was a lot tougher than I thought," the winner told Sky Sports. "When I dropped him in the 10th I thought he was finished, but he came again and he's a good boy.

"I was beating him to the jab, and if you do that you've got the fight sorted. I was catching him over the top a lot but he was coming back and making a fight of it."

Promoter Ricky Hatton added: "It's up to the board of control who they put forward next, personally I would like to make the Stephen Foster fight."

Earlier on the Sheffield bill, Bradley Pryce of Newbridge breathed life back into his career with a narrow victory over another former Prizefighter champion - Patrick Mendy.

Pryce struggled to keep pace with the improgving Mendy in the early stages of the 10-rounder but surprisingly it was the 21 year old who tired markedly as the fight wore on.

That allowed Pryce a second chance and he took it, with the referee giving him the fight 96-95 with the close fifth round being scored a draw.