Dalton Smith (16-0, 12 KOs) knocked out Jose Zepeda (37-5, 28 KOs) in the fifth round to win the vacant WBC silver light welterweight title on Saturday night at the Sheffield Arena in Sheffield, England.
Smith connected with a right to the body to stop Zepeda in the fifth. The punch sent Zepeda down on all fours, but he stayed down and was counted out. The fight was halted at 1:25 of round five.
Before that, Zepeda had outworked a timid-looking Smith through the first four rounds, chasing him around the ring at times and nailing him with lefts. Zepeda got careless in the fifth and was hit by a big right to the body from Smith.
The defeat for Zepeda puts his record at 1-3 in his last four fights, so it’s important that boxing fans not get too excited about Smith. Tonight, he was matched perfectly against a non-contender. Zepeda is not ranked in the top 15 by any organization.
“I dare you to fight Dalton Smith,” said promoter Eddie Hearn in calling out Adam Azom. “We’re chasing a world title, but we will drop down a level to fight Adam Azim.
Sandy Ryan (7-1-1, 3 KOs) retained her WBO welterweight female title with a fourth-round stoppage win over Terri Harper (14-2-2, 6 KOs). The bout was stopped after round four. Ryan had been pummeling Harper since the third, and she continued to unload with shots.
Unbeaten junior middleweight Ishmael Davis (13-0, 6 KOs) shined tonight with a ten-round unanimous decision win over Troy Williamson (20-3-1, 14 KOs).
Davis used his sharp punching to control the fight, catching Williamson frequently with eye-catching shots to get the better of the action. The judges scored it 116-112, 117-111, and 116-112.
BBBofC Central Area light welterweight champion James Flint (14-1-2, 3 KOs) looked like pure gold tonight, out-punching Campbell Hatton (14-1, 5 KOs) to win a ten-round unanimous decision in a pure war.
Flint defeated Campbell with his precise punching and beautiful form, taking advantage of his recklessness to punish him with shots.
Campbell looked hurt in rounds eight and ten from the hard body and headshots. The judges’ scores were 98-92, 97-94, and 97-95. The more accurate score of the three was the 98-92, as Flint appeared to win eight of the ten rounds.
Campbell was at his best in rounds one and five. Flint lit him up with pinpoint shots in the rest of the rounds.