DALTON SMITH lit up the Sheffield Arena final night time (March 23) with a knockout victory in the greatest struggle of his profession to this point.
The 27-year-old drove a proper hand to the mid-section of Jose Zepeda in spherical 5 leaving the Mexican in agony and unable to proceed. Smith’s victory not solely made a reputation for himself on the world stage however locations him in a pack of contenders in a stacked super-lightweight division.
Smith’s triumph, which headlined an satisfying card, was one other memorable night time for the Steel City which has staged loads over the years. Boxing News appears to be like again at 5 extra unforgettable events that occurred in the Sheffield Arena.
Joe Calzaghe v Chris Eubank – October 11, 1997
Frank Warren’s “Full Monty” card featured wins for Paul Ingle, Johnny Nelson, and Naseem Hamed however the night time belonged to Calzaghe who confronted a late change of opponent. The veteran Eubank stepped in to substitute Steve Collins and located himself on the ground on the opening spherical in opposition to the Welshman. From there an exhilarating contest ensued however the vacant WBO super-middleweight title grew to become Calzaghe’s after profitable on factors in certainly one of the hardest fights of his profession.
Carl Thompson v Chris Eubank 2 – July 18, 1998
After a brutal 12-round encounter in Manchester three months earlier the two warriors collided as soon as once more for Thompson’s WBO cruiserweight title. At the finish of spherical 9 Eubank was forward on two of the judges scorecards after one other violent battle however along with his left eye utterly closed referee Paul Thomas was pressured to name off the struggle. It would show to be the remaining struggle in Eubank’s unforgettable 13-year profession.
Joe Calzaghe v Richie Woodhall – December 16, 2000
The two super-middleweights put their friendship to one facet to battle it out in the seventh defence of Calzaghe’s WBO title. Woodhall, a former WBC champion, was down in the remaining seconds of the ninth following a burst of photographs from the champion. Woodhall was beneath immense stress at the begin of the 10th and an accumulation of rapid-fire punches pressured referee Roy Francis to intervene and cease Woodhall’s admirable effort.
Ricky Hatton v Carlos Maussa – November 26, 2005
‘The Hitman’ returned to the Sheffield Arena seven years after profitable a six-round bout on the Thompson-Eubank 2 card. This time Hatton was the toast of British boxing after beating Kostya Tszyu. Five months later Hatton added the WBA light-welterweight title to his IBF with a Joe Frazier-esque lunging left hook knocking out his awkward Colombian opponent in the ninth spherical. Hatton would then embark on a four-fight American journey earlier than returning to struggle in the UK three years later.
Leigh Wood v Josh Warrington – October 7, 2023
Having grow to be a must-see TV fighter Leigh Wood introduced his Nottingham assist to Sheffield to tackle Josh Warrington and his Leeds military of supporters. After six rounds Warrington was in a very good place to grow to be a three-time world featherweight champion however Wood had different concepts. His sturdiness and toughness obtained him to spherical seven the place he unleashed a mixture from hell which dropped Warrington who was stopped from persevering with by referee Michael Alexander.
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