Smith Edges Quigley, DeGale and Gavin Win Bouts

By Mark Vester

At the Echo Arena in Liverpool, Paul Smith (28-1, 15KOs) won the British super middleweight title with a twelve round split decision over Tony Quigley (13-2, 6KOs). It was a close contest with little excitement. Neither man had a clear advantage during the twelve rounds and it moved along at a slow pace with plenty of clinches. Smith was cut above the eye in the championships rounds, and Quigley was hurt in the last round but it seemed to be more from being fatigued than anything else. The scores were 116-113 and 116-112 for Smith and 116-114 for Quigley.

On the undercard, 2008 Olympic gold medal winner James DeGale (4-0, 3KOs) continued to impress, stopping Ally Morrison (2-1-1) in three. After dominating the first two rounds, DeGale let his hands go in the third and battered Morrison until the ref jumped in.

Junior welterweight Frankie Gavin (4-0, 4KOs) continued his power streak, blasting out experienced Steve Saville (19-7, 8KOs) in two rounds. Gavin punished Saville in every minute of the contest. He dropped him in the second and the fight was stopped moments later.

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