Tonight at the Liverpool Echo Arena history was made and a city rivalry was put to bed with Callum Smith (18-0, 13ko) becoming the new British Super Middleweight Champion beating Rocky Fielding (21-1, 12ko) via a 1st round TKO.
In doing so Callum now joins the rest of his now historic Team Smith family of brothers (Liam, Stephen and Paul) whom have all held the cherished Lonsdale belt at some point in their careers.
In a true Battle of the Brits, Smith built on all the promise and potential that he has been tagged with and showed that he belongs at the next level by dismantling Fielding. Three knockdowns in the first round showed the power Smith has in both hands and he will now look forward to a World title shot.
Right from start Smith went for Fielding and caught him with a right hand over the top which put Fielding down. From there Fielding got back up and put some pressure on with a shootout between the two before again he went down, after catching a left hook to the head which he did well to get back up from. The end was coming and once a few more power shots landed Fielding went down for the last time before the end was called at 2:45 of round 1.
In post fight interview trainer Joe Gallagher called for a world title shot next and those comments were echoed by promoter Eddie Hearn who said they will look to get Smith to be made mandatory for the WBC title currently held by Badou Jack.
“I don’t know what it looked like from the outside but it felt exciting when I was in there as while it lasted. Credit to Rocky Fielding, he came out and we had a shootout and I think that’s what the public wanted. It was a good fight while it lasted and I’m pleased to get the win, it looks on paper like a one-round blowout but it’s a good win regardless of what round I put him away. I said in the build-up and it came across as a bit arrogant but I knew I was the better fighter and I just need the chance to prove it and I think I showed that tonight,” Smith said.
“I don’t think it would finish in the first. I remember by brothers asked me a few weeks ago how I thought it would go and I said that with the crowd as soon as one shot landed it would catch fire and it will be over in the first four, but I would be a liar if I said I thought I would take him out in the first round. I thought it would be quick for four and then settle and at is where I would take over. I am British Champion and for the four of us to get that and make history is something I’m very proud of.
“Joe said to me before if I do hurt him be careful going in and I was a bit reckless but I never expected to get him out of there in one round. When I landed I sort of jumped on him and ended up in a bit of a shootout which gave him a chance to get back into a fight, so it’s something I do need to learn from. I haven’t been pro for three years yet, its ten days short of three years since I made my debut, so I’m still learning. I am doing everything right at the minute and I do think 2016 is the year I can become a World champion.
“It is Rocky’s first loss and too many people write you off after a loss, it happened my brother Stephen, and look at him now. Without being big headed, Rocky has lost to a good fighter, not somebody he was expected to beat. I am sure he can go away, work hard and come back.”
“I am gutted,” said Fielding. “Hats off to Callum, he is a good fighter, and I knew I was in for a good fight. But that is boxing, one punch changed the game and fair play to him.
“I caught him with a good jab and I thought I had my rhythm but he let his shots go and he caught me. I recouped a bit and I thought I caught him but hats off, he is a big Super Middleweight and he caught me. I wasn’t hurt off it, I wasn’t knocked out. With me and him it was who landed first. I said all along I had power to catch him and hurt him and obviously he does too but he got me first and that was it. He will push on but I will be back and I will push on.
“I believe I am up there in the mix of things. I will sit down with Oliver and Eddie but I want a World-ranked fighter for my next fight, I am not going to go backwards. This is a defeat to a good fighter so I can learn from it and move on.”
“I’m very pleased, the first round we were not expecting that,” said Smith’s trainer Joe Gallagher. “It was great that both kids were willing to put it on the line, because they didn’t need to fight each other. Rocky can come again, he is a good kid, a good talent, and like I say he can come again but the future at the moment is Callum Smith and I’ll be pushing Eddie Hearn to get Callum that World title shot next year.
“The British title was something he wanted to do, and wanted to win to be a part of history and Liverpool should be so proud of the Smith brothers. Four British champions has never been done before, and will never be done again. I think we will look at World title eliminator and we will move on to that. He won’t have that British title for long.”
“I felt because both of these guys had never been in this stage that they might be fighting off nerves and they just went at it,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “Callum has freakish power. Congratulations to both fighters, not often enough do young fighters put their undefeated records on the line. This is a very special night for the Smith family, four British champions will never be done again and is something that should always be remembered.
“This boy is a real, real fighter. He has freakish power, is WBC number one, and I believe Callum Smith will win world championships in 2016. We will be pushing at the WBC convention for him to become mandatory challenger to Badou Jack. It is a fight I believe he wins. We have Martin Murray challenging Arthur Abraham, James DeGale MBE is the IBF champion and George Groves coming back which is a fight we have always wanted. These are big times for Callum Smith in the world division.”
On the undercard, former WBO lightweight champion Ricky Burns (39-5-1, 13ko) won with a 11th round TKO over Australia’s Josh King (20-4, 9ko).
Burns clearly the superior boxer in the ring, seemed to get involved in King’s inside tactics throughout the first half of the fight. Numerous time outs and a few ticking offs from the referee resulted in a 4th round point deduction for King. Setting his offence on King’s body, Burns went to town with his body punches from the 6th onwards and with that instantly took control of the fight before finishing with a beautiful body shot in the 11th round.
Back at lightweight Burns looked to remind people of how good he once was, but it proved to be a messy affair with Burns smiling at times knowing how ugly it looked.
With this win and his recent outing against Omar Figueroa, he will be hopeful that it put him back in the picture of a now stacked lightweight division and will no doubt be looking for a big domestic fight next.
Scotty Cardle (19-0) beat local Liverpudlian Sean ‘Masher’ Dodd (10-2) via 12th round TKO in a cracking British title fight that had everything.
Cardle started the quickest and showed he was the superior boxer but was then taken to the trenches by the excellent Dodd. Middle rounds came and went with Dodd dragging Cardle to a street fight who had virtually no defence, and was told so by his corner and to use his boxing brain.
Going into the championship rounds Cardle started to show some signs of his ring craft but still showed no signs of any defence and carried on with the brawl. Going into the 12th round Dodd was actually ahead on two scorecards. Cardle came out swinging catching Dodd almost at will before a controversial stoppage by referee Terry O’Connor after Dodd went crashing into the ropes.
“I’ve been tested before in the pros but I have never been tested like this,” said Cardle. “I really had to grit my teeth at times in that fight. For me, I was behind in every round so the only way was to knock him out. He is a warrior and he really dug deep. I will give him a rematch, he deserves it.
“My support has been superb,” said Dodd. “The ref is doing his job and I have no say in that. We are paid to entertain and I hope everybody who bought a ticket enjoyed the fight.”
“I felt like the referee stopped it too early,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “It was a great fight. Sean Dodd beat Gary Buckland and did a great job against Scotty Cardle, we have to see this fight again 100 per cent.”
– Sam Cawthray / @SamCawthray
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