Callum Smith continued to strengthen his claims as one of the best super-middleweight boxers in the world with an emphatic third-round knockout of Hassan N'Dam to make a successful first defence of his WBA title.
Smith’s camp were already in a celebratory mood after watching Liverpool secure Champions League glory in their 2-0 victory over Tottenham, and the reigning world champion lived up to his end of the bargain with a dominant display in New York’s Madison Square Garden on the undercard of Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr.
Smith never looked in trouble from the first bell, holding a noticeable size advantage over former middleweight champion N’Dam, and the Cameroonian was knocked down for the first time right at the end of the opening round.
N’Dam only just beat the count to return to his corner, but the second round brought much of the same as he once again went crashing to the canvas, only to defiantly get back to his feet and box on.
But when the inevitable third came from a thumping right, the referee had seen enough and waved off the fight to give Smith his first victory in nine months since his World Boxing Super Series triumph over George Groves.
"I had a few nerves before. Tonight was all about the performance,” Smith told Sky Sports.
"I want to stay active now and prove I’m the best super middleweight in the world."
Smith’s trainer Joe Gallagher immediately called out Canelo Alvarez, who remains the WBA’s regular champion at super-middleweight but also holds the WBA, WBC and IBF titles at middleweight, for a potential showdown at 168lb at Liverpool’s Anfield stadium.
