British fighters George Groves and Callum Smith met in the unlikely setting of Jeddah's King Abdullah Sports City Arena on Friday as they contested the World Boxing Super Series final.
Groves' WBA super-middleweight title was also on the line against unbeaten 28-year-old Smith.
Groves last fought in February when he beat Super Series semi-final opponent Chris Eubank Jr, winning that bout despite suffering a dislocated shoulder in the final round.
The Muhammad Ali Trophy, WBC diamond and Ring magazine belts were also on offer, in addition to a seven-figure financial reward.
And it proved to be a cautious opening round by both boxers as they looked to gain ascendancy through probing jabs, and although Smith finished the first three minutes marginally stronger, there was nothing to choose between them.
Round two followed a similar pattern, with Smith looking to land a hefty blow on more than one occasion, but Groves showed his ring-craft to remain out of trouble.
Smith continued with his tactic in round three, and he caught Groves with a menacing right hand, yet he recovered quickly and reverted to a jabbing style that helped keep Smith at a safe distance.
Smith's punching power was holding him in good stead, and he looked to have grown into the contest more quickly than his opponent.
And while the first four rounds were tight and tense affairs, Smith would have been marginally ahead on most scorecards.
Groves' strong combination work surfaced in the fifth round, but he knew that Smith's heavy-duty punching had to be countered, and he looked to have won the round before another full-on three minutes followed that saw more strong punching by Smith as it continued to be a fight with hardly anything in it.
But it was all over in round seven as a powerful left hook by Smith put Groves in all sorts of trouble, before further punches sent him to the canvas and he did not make the count. Smith won the Super Series, became WBA super-middleweight champion and preserved his career unbeaten record.
