Liam Smith signaled his intentions to rule the Super Welterweight division once again, becoming the first man to stop Jessie Vargas in a pulsating chief support.
Such was the all-action opening half, Smith was cut in third round over right eye and Vargas cut in the fifth as both men came out firing. The tide began to turn in Smith’s favor as the halfway mark approached and poured on the pressure, landing heavy artillery on the Vegas man who somehow stayed on his feet, surviving an especially sustained attack in the ninth round.
The referee inspected the former two-weight World champion and deemed him ok to carry on, but Smith took up the attack once again and although Vargas gamely tried to stay in the contest, his corner was ready to pull their man out inside a minute of the 10th round before the referee stepped in, crowning Smith the WBO Intercontinental champion and putting the rest of the division on notice.
