Stephen Smith loses despite valiant effort against Jason Sosa whilst Martin Murray returned with victory over Nuhu Lawal
STEPHEN SMITH’S dreams of claiming the WBA super-featherweight title were shut down by a determined Jason Sosa.
Whilst Martin Murrary returned from his summer defeat to George Groves by grinding out a victory against late stand-in Nuhu Lawal.
Reuters Jason Sosa kept hold of his belt in his first title defence[/caption]
At the second time of asking Smith failed to win a world title after Sosa landed ferocious shots in the early rounds.
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Smith picked up a big cut over his eye at the end of the third round as Sosa took the upper hand in the bout.
In round four the doctor was called upon to examine Smith’s eye which led to a response from the Brit as he hit Sosa with big shots of his own.
Stephen Smith picked up a nasty cut in round threeReuters
Smith managed to have more success in the latter stages of the fight and grew in confidence and stood toe to toe, which suited Sosa as both fighters courageously traded punches.
But despite Smith’s valiant effort he was too far behind on the scorecard and needed a knockout to win the fight.
Smith’s bravery was not enough as he suffered the third defeat of his career.
Smith showed great courage as he battled against SosaReuters
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Whilst Murray, who opened the event in Monte Carlo, had to deal with two late changes of opponent which left him facing undefeated Lawal.
First he was expecting a rematch with former two-weight world champion Arthur Abraham before Dmitry Chudinov replaced him due to injury.
But Chudinov pulled out on Wednesday after picking up a virus – which handed Lawal a chance of upsetting the odds in this gambling hotspot.
Reuters Nuhu Lawal was drafted in as a last minute opponent for Martin Murray[/caption]
But Murray dug deep in the super-middleweight bout to get rid of the tough Nigerian, who somehow managed to stay on his feet throughout despite a series of stiff right hands.
The Englishman was even deducted a point for use of the head in the final round but it mattered little in the end with all three judges giving him the nod by a stretch.
It means Murray has now won three of his four fights here on the French coast – with his only defeat coming against Gennady Golovkin last year.
Lawal proved he had a solid chin against MurrayReutersMurray showed great professionalism and patience to get the victoryReuters
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