Both Anthony Joshua and Eddie Hearn were in the front row for the opening title bout of ‘The Last Crescendo’.
Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi got a huge night of boxing in Saudi Arabia off to an electric start as they competed for the WBO Interim World Light Heavyweight title.
Smith went into the bout looking to become a two-division champion having previously held the WBA World Super Middleweight title.
As for Buatsi, he was looking to make a first defense of his title having defeated Willy Hutchinson for the belt in his last outing.
Callum Smith defeats Joshua Buatsi for WBO Interim World Light Heavyweight title
The fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia got off to a quick start in the opening title fight of the night and maintained an entertaining pace throughout all 12 rounds.
The bout between the London and Liverpool fighters began to heat up around the midpoint of the fight, with Smith seemingly beginning to pull away as he dealt damage to his opponent.
However, as Smith was piling pressure on Buatsi, a counter-left hook from the champion would land cleanly on the Liverpudlian.
The back-and-forth damage being dealt on both sides brought the crowd to their feet at the end of round six, including a standing ovation from Joshua and Hearn.
There would be more jubilation for Hearn as Smith of Matchroom would be declared the winner as the slugfest went to the judges’ scorecards.
Despite Smith considering retirement before the fight, he became a two-division champion versus Buatsi.
The final scorecards would read 115-113, 119-110, and 116-112 as Smith claimed the WBO Interim World Light Heavyweight title.
‘Mundo’s’ win would extend his record to 31-2 as Smith has still only last to Canelo Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev.
- READ MORE: Who is Joshua Buatsi? The South London light-heavyweight set to take on Liverpool’s Callum Smith
Fans react to Callum Smith vs Joshua Buatsi war
Fans were eager to give their praise to both Smith and Buatsi as the two had an incredible bout to open ‘The Last Crescendo’.
“That felt was a belter, well done lads you both left it all in the ring, cracking fight,” one fan wrote.
Other fans online also added comments such as “What a fight!”, “This card is so stacked!”, and “6th round will go down in history, both warriors.”
The winner Smith now look to the winner of the main event, as Beterbiev will aim to defend his WBO World Light Heavyweight title versus Dmitry Bivol.