Smith joy as desert storm hits the Saint
JEFF POWELL reports from Jeddah CALLUM SMITH put down George Groves with a brutal seventh–round knockout to take the WBA super-middleweight title last night. The two Brits went head to head in a contest for the Muhammad Ali Trophy, WBA world strap, the WBC diamond and Ring Magazine belts — and it was Smith who emerged the victor after a devastating display. Smith’s punching power was impressive throughout and, while the first four rounds were tight and tense affairs, he would have been marginally ahead on most scorecards. The Saint’s strong combination work surfaced in the fifth round, but he knew that Smith’s heavy-duty punching had to be countered, and he looked to have won the round before his Liverpudlian opponent came back in the seventh to put him on the floor. King Abdullah’s Sports City stands in oasis-like isolation in the desert some 20 miles from Jeddah, a pale grey mirage shimmering in the light of a blood-red setting sun as the faithful made the pilgrimage. Inside, the facilities are stunningly modern and the 10,000-seat Arena was nearly sold out for the first professional boxing event to be held in this country. The audience was a mixture of men in their white robes and red and white headdresses, the women in the black gowns, plus the ex-pats in their casual weekend attire. Between them — the locals in their curiosity — they whipped up a clamour of enthusiasm which will have made two of Britain’s finest boxers feel more at home. Three including Chris Eubank Jnr on the undercard. Some of the music added a further air of the exotic to proceedings conducted almost entirely in English. There was much excitement when Saudi Arabia’s first professional boxer, super-lightweight Zuhayr Al Qahtani, scored the fifth win of his undefeated career so far. More when Evander Holyfield brought in the Muhammad Ali Trophy, which would be going to the winner of the inaugural World Boxing Super Series super-middleweight tournament.