Undercard results: Callum Smith earns light-heavyweight world title shot with KO win over Mathieu Bauderlique

Callum Smith delivered a big KO win over Mathieu Bauderlique
AP
Duncan Bech20 August 2022

Callum Smith claimed a shot at the WBC world light-heavyweight title with a fourth-round knockout of France's Mathieu Bauderlique in Jeddah.

Smith was making his second appearance in the division since his reign as WBA super-middleweight champion ended at the hands of Canelo Alvarez in December 2020 - his only defeat in 30 fights.

An action packed four rounds saw Bauderlique go down twice in the fourth, with a devastating left hook prompting referee Hector Afu to immediately wave off the fight.

“Good performance. He engaged and caught me a few times," said Liverpool's Smith as he looks to become a two-weight world champion.

“I'm happy with the finish and we move in. It was a good shot and it's a shot I'm comfortable throwing. I just want to keep winning and at some point I'll become a world champion.”

Olympic silver medallist Ben Whittaker produced a dominant victory over his former amateur opponent Petar Nosic.

Whittaker, a member of Team GB at Tokyo 2020, was never in trouble against the Croatian in a successful second professional outing.

It took just 76 seconds for Ramla Ali to polish off Crystal Garcia Nova with an overhand right that sent the underdog's gum shield flying out of her mouth.

Ramla Ali v Crystal Garcia Nova
Ramla Ali knocked her opponent’s gum shield out with a hefty KO blow
Action Images via Reuters

The fight was the first women's bout to be staged in Saudi Arabia and British-based Somali Ali impressed on her seventh outing, with promoter Eddie Hearn promising a world title fight next year.

“I'm looking forward to having a little break now because my last two fights I have been fighting and training with a fractured wrist and toe," Ali said.

“But this was a massive opportunity and I couldn't say no even though I have been in a world of pain.”

Additional reporting by PA.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in