WATCH: Sheffield Wednesday superfan Dalton Smith's sensational knockout of Sam Maxwell in British title fight
Smith retained his British super-lightweight title with a magnificent seventh round knockout of Sam Maxwell at the Utilita Arena.
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Hide AdMaking the most of a lapse in Maxwell’s defence, Smith wiped him out with a right-hander.
With the victory, earned a via a dominant performance and despite having cuts over both eyes, he also takes Maxwell’s Commonwealth title and enhances his ambitions to bring a world title fight to Hillsborough, the home of his beloved Sheffield Wednesday, sometime next year.
The 26-year-old extends his record to 15-0 (win-loss) and gets to keep the Lonsdale belt for winning three British title fights.
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Hide AdSmith said: “It was the first time I’ve had a cut and felt the blood pouring. And I thought ‘this is why I’m a warrior and this is what I’m made for’.
“But I smelt blood and thought ‘this is where I turn it up’. I needed critics asking me if I was that good and I needed Sam to bring this out of me.
“In my career I want to become a world champion but I made a bit of history in my city to win the British title outright.”
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Hide AdSmith’s promoter at Matchroom Sports, Eddie Hearn, beamed: “In this sport people always want to question you. He has produced a knockout that will go viral around the world and will put the division on notice.
“That was the sort of performance and knockout that makes a statement.”
Elsewhere on the Sheffield card, Leeds fighter Hopey Price marked his featherweight debut with a seventh-round stoppage of James Beech Jr to move to 11-0.
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Hide AdAnd Hull’s Lewis Sylvester moved to 12-0 and took the English title with a split decision verdict over 10 rounds against Lewis Cope.
Elsewhere, Briton Savannah Marshall scored a majority decision points win over Franchon Crews-Dezurn to become the undisputed super-middleweight champion in Manchester.
The judges scored the fight 95-95, 99-92 and 97-93 as the 32-year-old fighter recovered from a slow start to win out after a fast-paced encounter.
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Hide AdA 13th professional win for Marshall means she is now a two-weight champion.
Marshall said: “She (Crews-Dezurn) is a tough, tough woman. I thought she came on stronger, some of the rounds were close but I felt landed the better shots.
On the undercard, Natasha Jonas beat Kandi Wyatt to win the IBF welterweight title after the referee halted the bout in the eighth round.
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Hide AdCanadian fighter Wyatt offered little in response against Jones, who is also now a two-weight world champion and has won 14 of her 17 professional fights.
She is also the reigning WBC, WBO and IBF light-middleweight champion.