Callum Smith returned from his defeat by Artur Beterbiev by stopping Colombia’s Carlos Galvan in five rounds at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham, England.

At the very bottom of the undercard of the flyweight contest between Sunny Edwards and Galal Yafai, the fighter still considered by many Britain’s leading light heavyweight eased to victory in a contest that was scheduled too early to even appear on the broadcast of DAZN.

The 34 year old, partly owing to the postponement of his date with Beterbiev, had last won a fight in August 2022, against Mathieu Bauderlique. 

In Birmingham he fought for the first time with his brother Stephen Smith as his trainer – he maintains that he will resume working with Buddy McGirt – and prioritised recording rounds in a fight he largely controlled.

Galvan, 33, confronted a significant size disadvantage, and had already been hurt in the third round when successive left hooks to the head contributed to him taking a knee in the fourth.

Smith, again, refused to excessively pursue the stoppage, but regardless was rewarded for his patience with two further knockdowns and the stoppage in the fifth.

A left hook to the body had already dropped Galvan when a second again sent him to the canvas, prompting Galvan’s corner to throw in the towel at the same time that the referee Kevin Parker intervened to rescue him. The stoppage was recorded at 79 seconds.

Smith spoke, post-fight, of his desire to remain active. There exists speculation regarding a potential match-up between he and Joshua Buatsi in 2025.