By Mark Vester
At the Echo Arena in Liverpool, Merseyside, super middleweight Paul Smith (29-1, 15 KOs) won a twelve round unanimous decision over Tony Dodson (22-6-1, 12 KOs) in a close and hard-fought battle to retain his BBBofC British title. The scores were 117-112, 115-112 and 116-111.
Smith started strong but got hurt from several headbutts that opened him up above his left eye. Smith tired, allowing Dodson to come back in the middle rounds while pressing forward. Smith returned fire in the championship rounds and was willing to go to war with Dodson often.
Rising welterweight contender Kell Brook (21-0, 14KOs) won the World Boxing Organization interncontinental title after stopping Krzysztof Bienias (39-4, 16KOs) in six rounds. Brook moves closer to a WBO title shot. The belt is held by one of the best in the world, Manny Pacquiao.
Brook was aggressive from the start. He had Bienias moving backwards in survival mode in the early going. Bienas stayed on the defensive, forcing Brook to pick his spots with hard accurate punches. In the sixth round, he cracked Bienas with a good uppercut to get him in serious trouble and the fight was stopped soon after.
On the undercard:
Light heavyweight Tony Bellew stopped Atoli Moore in one round.
Cruiserweight Enzo Maccarinelli stopped Zoltan Czekus in one round.
Featherweight Stephen Smith stopped Jason Thomas in one round.
Light middleweight Thomas Costello fought to a six round draw with Lee Noble.
Send News Tips and Comments To Mark Vester @ boxingvester@gmail.com
