Callum Smith inflicts first defeat of Joshua Buatsi's career in gruelling fight

Joshua Buatsi suffered the first defeat of his professional boxing career on Saturday night after losing to fellow Brit Callum Smith in a gruelling contest. 

Buatsi fired off his jab in the first round, whilst Smith looked to target the body with his trademark left hooks. Very little separated the two British stars, but Buatsi looked sharper, even in the clinches the former Olympian was able to sneak shots through and catch Smith by surprise.

Buatsi was on the front foot in the second, backing Smith on to the ropes who struggled to escape and took a Buatsi left hook well. Buatsi continued his activity in round three and while Smith was taking a lot of punches to his arms, there is only so long until an opening presented itself.

Buatsi did exactly that with left hand to the body which was felt by Smith who briefly bent over. Smith managed to recover and land a right hand of his own to end the third.

• Read next | Dmitry Bivol gets revenge against Artur Beterbiev in undisputed light heavyweight title rematch

Round four saw Smith continue his assault to Buatsi’s body, and his punches were now being felt by Buatsi whose arms tightened in anticipation of what was coming. The effects of this contest began to take effect with a cut emerging by Smith’s right eye. A Smith left hook at the end of the round ended what was the Liverpudlian’s best period of the fight so far.

Smith quickly gained confidence and round five was another which he dominated. Buatsi’s sharpness which served well at the start of the fight had faded, perhaps down to Smith’s well targeted body punches.

Round six was a thrilling one. Smith was landing with ease and a right hand stunned Buatsi prompting a barrage of Smith left hooks. While Buatsi showed signs of struggle, he made to let everyone know he will not be that easy to get rid of, stunning Smith with a left hook of his own to close the round.

Buatsi and Smith took the foot off the gas in round seven, then in the eighth a right-left combination from Smith landed before Buatsi snapped back his opponent’s head with left hand.

Two big right hands from Smith were the highlight in round nine, but he was unable to follow these up with exhaustion beginning to creep in. Buatsi continued to keep his hopes alive a stiff jab in the closing seconds.

The message was clear from Buatsi’s corner heading into the tenth, a knockout was needed to win. Buatsi emerged with emphasis and was back to walking Smith down landing shots aplenty. Smith on the other hand was kept quiet and had to weather the storm which came his way.

Buatsi was in the ascendancy in round 11 with his jab and right hands taking their effect on Smith in the championship rounds. Smith managed to land a right uppercut, but the trend continued with Smith unable to follow these up with more hard-hitting punches in an attempt to finish the contest early.

Whenever a high-profile contest enters the twelfth and final round, fighters leave everything in the ring. A Smith left hook, right hand combination prompted his promoter Eddie Hearn to stand ringside and give every ounce of support to his man. Then came the pair swinging in the centre of the ring with Smith having the last say with a left hook which rocked a tired and exhausted Buatsi.

All three judges scored the fight in Smith's favour with scores of 119-110, 115-113 and 116-112.

A strong second half from Smith and the lack of sharpness from Buatsi which dominated the early stages saw the Liverpudlian become the new interim WBO light heavyweight champion in Riyadh. 

What next for Callum Smith? - Analysis from Christopher Walker in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

With victory, Smith now has plenty of options moving forward, but there may be a big demand to see that fight for a second time due to the excitement it contained.

175lbs is heating up and Smith may wish to fight for a world tilte after last year’s setback to Beterbiev and that could include a showdown with the likes of Dmitry Bivol and David Benavidez. For Buatsi, he loses his unbeaten record, but he will have won the respect of many with such a gutsy performance and he may believe he could settle the score in an immediate rematch.

As it stands, the night belongs to Smith and he has earned the right to choose his own path following a heroic showing that fans will not forget in a hurry.

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