Liam Smith

Madison Square Garden, New York City - In a crossroads junior middleweight bout between former world champions, Liam Smith (31-3-1, 18 KOs) broke down and ...

More of the same came in round ten, with Vargas unable to defend himself to the point of forcing a stoppage. Smith saw a stoppage in his sights, battering Vargas along the ropes. Smith would enjoy spurts of success, while Vargas was the busier fighter and effective with his uppercut both upstairs and to the body. Vargas showed signs of slowing down as the fight entered the second half. As certain as day will always turn to night, Smith managed to suffer a cut. Smith was pushed to the canvas midway through the round, correctly waved off by referee Steve Willis who warned Vargas for the infraction.

Liam Smith forced the stoppage against Jessie Vargas, Franchon Crews-Dezurn became an undisputed champion, and more from MSG!

BoxRec have a grand total of 23 super middleweights ranked in the entire world, but they also still have former middleweight titlist Christina Hammer ranked at 160 even though her last two fights have been at 168. “(Her nose) was target practice, I just wanted to keep hitting it instead of going to the body.” A rugged, hard-hitting fight, and one where Crews-Dezurn (8-1, 2 KO) went to a new level. Give respect to both of these guys, because this was a hell of a fight between two good, sound professional fighters, both of them once again proving not just their ability but their toughness and determination. All four major belts will be decided in the May 14 rematch between Jermell Charlo and Brian Castano, and then everyone will kind of see what the landscape looks like from there. Nonito Donaire, who was working as an assistant in Vargas’ corner, had told Vargas that he was going to stop the fight if things didn’t go better in round 10.

New York, NY — Jessie Vargas promised he would wipe the smile off of Liam “Beefy” Smith's face during their pre-fight weigh-in on Friday.

With 45 seconds left in the ninth, an attacking Smith, behind left hooks to the body and head, had Vargas reeling backward, taking more punishment. Smith started the eighth well, hitting Vargas at will. Smith dominated the first half of the sixth round. With 1:20 left in the third, the heavily partisan Smith crowd began chanting for Smith, who showed he was listening, because he seemed to heighten his attack and had Vargas trapped against the ropes in the last 40 seconds. By the fifth, both fighter’s white trunks took on a pinkish hue. Vargas, meanwhile, was dealing with a cut on his left eye.

Everything you need to know ahead of this weekend's Smith vs Vargas super welterweight bout including live streaming info, TV channel and start time for the ...

The Smith vs. Galal Yafai vs. Jessie Vargas vs. ‘Beefy’ is 30-3-1 his professional career and beat Anthony Fowler in his last bout in October, winning via TKO for the WBA International light-middleweight title. Katie Taylor vs. With Smith having already lost three fights during his professional career, defeat on Saturday could seriously damage his chances of earning another world title fight before he hangs up his gloves.

By Jack Tiernan: Former WBO junior middleweight champion Liam 'Beefy' Smith (31-3-1, 18 KOs) put on a masterclass performance on Saturday night, stopping.

Surprisingly, the referee didn’t give Smith a stern warning for this dirty tactic, as he was choking off his air of Vargas while doing this procedure. Given the inactivity, it’s not surprising that Vargas ran out of gas early in the fight. On several occasions, Smith wrapped Vargas in a headlock while he was bent over. Like in all of Smith’s fights, he applied constant pressure, focusing on his high volume attack to wear Vargas out. In the tenth round, ‘Beefy’ Smith unloaded with a series of heavy shots to the head of the exhausted and hurt Vargas, resulting in the referee Steve Willis stepping in and halting the contest. As it turns out, Donaire didn’t get a chance to throw in the towel because the referee halted the fight before he could.

Smith, Vargas Fight Photos Gallery - Madison Square Garden, New York City - In a crossroads junior middleweight bout between former world champions, ...

During the tenth, Smith was pressing forward and looking to finish Vargas off. Smith was pushing Vargas back and doing more damage. Vargas continued to connect well in the second to the head and body.