Callum Smith has apologised to Lenin Castillo following his knockout victory, as he celebrated the win before realising the extent of his opponent's condition.
The Liverpool fighter secured a devastating knockout in the second round of the bout at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium that left Castillo requiring medical attention.
Castillo was taken to hospital after receiving oxygen in the ring in chilling scenes and Smith has admitted he didn't originally understand the extent of his condition.
"It’s never nice to see that and you never want it to end that way. Boxing is a rough sport at times. I have heard he’s doing okay and my fingers are crossed for him," he told the Liverpool Echo after the fight.
"I apologised to his camp for celebrating – I hadn’t realised the extent and that he was unresponsive. I hate when fighters celebrate when their opponent is in a bad way so I apologised.
"If it was one my brothers lying there and an opponent celebrated I wouldn’t have liked it. It’s sport at the end of the day – there’s more to life than boxing."
Smith's statement win came under the guidance of new trainer Buddy McGirt and Smith feels that his performance shows he will be a contender in the division.
"I’m happy with my performance. My main goal was to get back to winning ways and I have done that.I wanted to show a bit more improvements and I didn’t really have time do that, but I know I have improved. I have shown that in camp.
"I am looking forward to more chances to show my improvements. It wasn’t a nice ending but it was a good result on paper. There had been a lot of questions after my loss and being with a new trainer – people had been writing me off.
"I showed tonight that I can punch at this division and I know I can be become a world champion at this division."
Smith now has his sights set on a title in his new belt class - and added that it's always been his dream to fight at Anfield.
"That has always been my goal. I need to be world champion to do this and I will work towards that. My goal is to win the world title. But fighting at Anfield would truly be a dream come true."
