Liam Smith has beaten Sam Eggington in Liverpool to haul himself back into to the world title hunt.
Smith, who lost his WBO light-middleweight title to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez in 2016, comprehensively beat old sparring partner Eggington, whose corner threw in the towel in the fifth round.
Smith, fighting back in his home city for the first time in three years, was a level above his opponent from the opening bell with Eggington's right eye swelling up early on after taking some stiff shots.
By the fifth round, the Birmingham fighter could barely see as a result of that swelling and was pulled out by his team having seldom troubled his opponent in the previous four rounds.
Smith, 30, is now keen on another world title shot after a narrow defeat to Jaime Munguia for the WBO title last year.
On the undercard, Scott Fitzgerald secured a split decision victory over Anthony Fowler, inflicting a first professional defeat on the Liverpudlian.
In a heated meeting between two former Great Britain teammates, Fitzgerald weathered an early storm before scoring a huge knockdown in the final round that would seal the win on the judges' scorecards.
That thrilling battle followed a bizarre ending to David Price's meeting with Kash Ali with the former disqualified in the fifth round for biting his opponent in their heavyweight clash.
Birmingham fighter Ali, previously undefeated in 15 professional bouts, appeared to bite Price just below the shoulder in the third round of their heavyweight fight - before being docked a point for landing a punch on the back of his opponent's head.
In the fifth, Price landed a heavy right on his opponent before the two ended up in a tangle and falling to the mat.
Ali held onto Price as the two were down, appearing to bite him again just below the left pectoral.
Ali was immediately disqualified with Price awarded the victory - with images clearly showing where he had left his mark on the Liverpudlian.
