Callum Smith defeated Joshua Buatsi to claim his interim light-heavyweight title on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2.
Callum ‘Mundo’ Smith defied his critics as he bounced back from a loss to Artur Beterbiev with an impressive performance against a skilled operator in Joshua Buatsi.
The Liverpudlian was stopped for the first time in his career against Beterbiev, causing Smith to consider retirement from boxing.
Despite this, he is well and truly back on the scene and will be eyeing the winner of Beterbiev vs Bivol as a potential opponent for his next fight.
Smith defeated Buatsi, who prayed for a knocked-out opponent once, on a close points decision, but one scorecard has sparked controversy amongst fans.
Fans outraged by 119-110 scores for Callum Smith vs Joshua Buatsi
Whilst two scorecards reflect the close nature of the fight, with scores of 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of the Scouse boxer, one judge, Steve Gray, gave Smith the win by a much greater margin of 119-110.
Gray also scored in favor of Ben Whittaker when he faced Liam Cameron, another decision that some deemed controversial.
Fans have responded to the scorecard with outrage:
Other fans believe scorecards like these have hugely detrimental effects on Riyadh Season as a whole:
Smith is now in line to face the main event winner, but despite his impressive performance in a great fight, the scorecard will leave a bad taste in the mouths of many fans.
Smith had said he believed George Groves was a tougher opponent than Buatsi would be, but it seems he was proven wrong, as the fight went down to the wire.
Callum Smith suffered horrific injury after first career defeat
Though he is now campaigning at light-heavyweight, Smith spent most of his career in the super-middleweight division, where he fought up until 2020 when he faced Mexican pound-for-pound superstar, Canelo Alvarez.
Alvarez defeated Smith in a unanimous decision, but it was Smith’s injury after the fight that garnered much attention from fans.
Throughout the fight, Alvarez targeted Smith’s left bicep, which resulted in severe swelling following the fight’s conclusion.
Smith is now in contention for the light-heavyweight crown against either Bivol, or Beterbiev, who admitted he doesn’t like hitting people recently, and the chance to fulfill his ambition of becoming a two-weight world champion.