Liam Smith delivered a clinical performance to halt Sam Eggington following five rounds of unrelenting punishment.
‘Beefy’ appeared to be ruthless mood from the outset and wasted no time setting about his Birmingham-born counterpart with solid combinations to the head and body.
Eggington, typically accustomed to capitalising on his superior physicality at welterweight, was bullied effortlessly by the stronger and busier Smith, as proceedings began to become increasingly one-sided.
Eggington continued to ship punishment as Smith, whose shot selection was on point, backed him up with jabs and rocked him with powerful punches to the body, before referee Bob Williams elected to intervene in the fifth round.
In returning to winning ways after an unsuccessful bid to reclaim the WBO title against undefeated Mexican prodigy Jaime Munguia last summer, Smith has earmarked European champion Sergio Garcia, Jermell Charlo and WBC champion Tony Harrison in addition to compatriot Kell Brook as potential future opponents.
