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Following a featherweight title fight loss on April 16, Stephen Smith was right back in the mix today, winning the vacant WBC "Silver" title at super featherweight, taking apart Daniel Brizuela with body shots in the seventh round, ending the fight. Brizuela (28-6-2, 8 KO) is a familiar face for UK fight fans, as the Argentinean has come over for previous stoppage losses against Tommy Coyle and Luke Campbell. Smith (24-2, 14 KO) will now be in line for a shot at next weekend's Vargas-Salido winner.
Lightweight fan favorite Sean Dodd won his first belt, a minor WBC trinket, with a win over Italy's Pasquale di Silvio, on scores of 97-93, 97-93, and 98-92. Dodd (11-2-1, 2 KO) had to work for the win, as di Silvio (20-8-1, 6 KO) didn't make it easy, but it was a clear victory for the Birkenhead native, who had given British champion Scotty Cardle two very tough nights in his previous two bouts, the more recent a draw on April 2.
Top super middleweight prospect and emerging contender Callum Smith had one of those nights where he was both dominant and a bit off, stopping Argentina's Cesar Reynoso in the sixth round. Reynoso (14-8-3, 7 KO) didn't roll over, as he got off the canvas in the first, fourth, and fifth rounds. The stoppage was a little questionable, but in all reality the fight probably didn't need to go on any further. Reynoso wasn't going to win, and Smith (20-0, 15 KO) was in control. I'm sure this will open up lots of questions about Smith, but I don't see any cause for concern. He wasn't at his absolute best and may frankly have taken the opponent lightly. He also couldn't do anything about Reynoso's toughness -- it's not like Smith wasn't knocking him down with good shots.
Tom Farrell stayed undefeated with a points win over Kofi Yates in a very good junior welterweight scrap, with Farrell (9-0, 2 KO) getting the nod on the referee's scorecard, 98-93. BLH had it 97-93 for Farrell, but Yates (13-2, 1 KO) boxed quite well himself. There was a lot of effort from both, and they put on a good show. Farrell has a lot of skills, but if anything obvious holds him back, it'll be a lack of punching power.
Heavyweight David Price returned with a second round knockout of Vaclav Pejsar, a Czech club fighter who, to his credit, gave it a go. That got him dropped in the first round and knocked out in the second, though. Price (20-3-1, 17 KO) is apparently "back" now. Pejsar is now 9-3 (8 KO).
Other Results
- Paul Smith PTS-6 Bartlomiej Grafka
- Hosea Burton TKO-2 Jozsef Kormany
- Gerald Carroll PTS-4 Kristian Laight
- Craig Glover TKO-3 Darren Snow