Callum Smith PTS12 Christophe Rebrasse
On a night when the spotlight was firmly fixed on the youngest of the Smith siblings, Callum confirmed once more how special a talent he really is, with a 12 round unanimous decision over the teak tough Frenchman Christophe Rebrasse.
Topping a big hometown show for the first time, Smith’s performance belied his relative inexperience and lack of real championship level fights – he was just 16 bouts into his career – to comprehensively defeat a seasoned operator in Rebrasse, dropping the Frenchman heavy along the way and testing that renowned durability to its limits.
From the first bell, Smith would display his superior skills in a display of composure, accuracy and variety that is exclusively reserved to the elite. Callum Smith has all of the above in abundance and utilised them all to stem the constant pressure of the persistent Rebrasse.
Into the second round the quality began to ooze as Smith established his jab and began to go through his full repertoire, boxing superbly off the back foot with authority, taking full control of proceedings. Rebrasse would close the gap and applied ample pressure, but the quality was with Smith and continued to be through 3rd and 4th rounds.
The beauty of a fighter like Rebrasse is one way or another he will show you, your true self when you enter a ring with him, such is his persistence, durability and will to win. During the 5th and 6th rounds that point came for Callum Smith as Rebrasse applied educated pressure fighting in spurts to claim at least a round and a share of another.
Smith was unmoved, comfortable in moments of Rebrasse success allowing him to retain his organisation and stick to the game plan. Normal service was resumed through the 7th and 8th round as Smith went though the gears landing those eye catching combinations – hooks, uppercuts, head, body – which make him a star.
That star quality was shone through once more in the 10th and most telling round of the fight, when Smith dropped Rebrasse with a crunching left hook to the body that would have had a lesser man prone in position as they swept up. Rebrasse was not to be stopped, but he was tamed as the superior Smith cruised through the final two rounds to claim a notable and clear victory.
The scoring judges saw it much the same posting scores of 118-110 (twice) & 120-107, all in favour of the new WBC Silver super middleweight title and first in line to face the winner of Badou Jack v George Groves set to take place in August or September.
Rocky Fielding TKO2 Brian Vera
When it comes to making a statement on the biggest night of your career, what Rocky Fielding did to Brian Vera tonight has to be right up there. The hometown fighter absolutely destroyed the seasoned American over two hellacious rounds, to catapult himself onto a different level.
For a longtime Fielding has had to accept the position as the forgotten man on the British super middleweight scene, which has seen him struggle with motivation in the past. He has been screaming for a fight to get his blood flowing and provide a platform to deliver; he got what he desired and delivered in spades.
The fight couldn’t have started better in a dream written and directed by Rocky Fielding himself. From the ding of the first bell, Fielding stood up to the rough stuff from Vera and took over with his superior boxing skill, culminating in a superb uppercut to finish a beautiful combination and send Vera to the seat of his pants.
The American was in a state of shock and showed little sign of recovery in the 2nd, failing to adjust his style, marching forward mercilessly onto shot after shot from the inspired Fielding.
When Vera touched down for a second time he did so in controversial fashion. Momentarily receiving a count after a solid right hand that saw him dip, only to rise and march towards Fielding to continue as the count was administered over the PA system. Fielding duly obliged and floored Vera heavy and took what remained of his fight in tow.
The end was nigh and Fielding was in no mood to let up, raining down blows on his opponent, who had nothing left. When the referee stopped the action it concluded what was easily the best performance of Rocky Fielding’s career and what a time to do it.
He moves on to a potentially huge domestic showdown on 26th September, sewing more than a couple of seeds in the minds of the Smith camp, that might just not have been there before.
Tony Bellew TKO10 Ivica Bacurin
Charismatic cruiserweight Tony Bellew returned to the ring tonight with a 10th round stoppage of the bewilderingly stubborn late replacement Ivica Bacurin at Liverpool’s Echo Arena.
It was a satisfactory return for the Liverpool man, who complained of illness in camp during his post-fight interview, which threatened to curtail his first fight in 7 months.
Everything went to plan for Bellew early on, as he shook off a cagey first round to drop his opponent with a sharp left hook to the temple that seemed to scramble the Croat’s senses as he stooped to his knees.
Bacurin briefly fought back bravely in the 3rd, before being subjected to a 4th round that seemed to extract the fight from him. When the second knockdown came in the 5th round, it appeared to be of Bacurin’s own accord unable to sustain his composure in the face of another Bellew assault.
It took until the end of the 9th for Bellew to drop his opponent again with two lovely right hooks, only to watch on in frustration as the Eastern European rose to his feet and see the bell.
Bellew had seen enough and closed the show in the 10th, clean combinations freely enough to force the referee to step across and save the proud Bacurin from himself and maybe his corner.
Martin Murray KO2 George Beroshvili
Martin Murray announced himself on the super middleweight scene tonight stopping George Beroshvili with a sickening left hook to the body midway through the 2nd round.
The writing was carved into the wall early on for the overmatched Georgian, who was backed up from the opening bell and made to suck up numerous thudding left hooks downstairs, which had him wincing in pain.
When the end came it was empathic and impressive from Murray, who has a long way to go before he announces himself as a contender in the higher weight class. However, as far as introductions go, he couldn’t have asked for much more.
Tommy Martin TKO7 Terry Needham
Tommy Martin produced a sketchy performance on his return to the ring tonight in Liverpool against the awkward southpaw Terry Needham.
Martin seemed to struggle with the southpaw as early as the first when he was sent to the canvas in somewhat contentious fashion, a decision that the light welterweight complained bitterly about as he received his count.
Martin continued to struggle against the cagey, but effective Needham who seemed intent on causing an upset. It took until the 6th round for Martin to begin to stamp his authority and begin to time the tricky local fighter and land some telling shots.
The best came in the 7th round via a right hand that sent Needham back into a neutral corner, dazed, as Martin stepped in for the kill referee Steve Gray interfered somewhat prematurely to stop the fight and award Martin the victory.
Remaining Results
Marcus Morrison TKO1 Yosef Panov
Joe Tonks PTS4 Sam Sharpe
Tom Farrell KO2 Radoslav Mitev
Callum Johnson PTS4 Tzvetosar Iliev
Tom Doran TKO5 Mike Byles
