First career knockdown as Chev Clarke beats Chris Billam Smith at London Copper Box arena

Clarke takes control late

The fight began slowly, with frequent holding, but Clarke became the sharper boxer and landed clean shots. Billam-Smith struggled to find his rhythm and was caught by an uppercut before replying with a short right hook that sent Clarke stumbling towards his corner.

Clarke later knocked Billam-Smith down. The fight continued, but the Bournemouth boxer appeared unsteady, and the referee stopped the contest after Clarke landed two more blows. Clarke said he was happy with the result and credited his training camp. He said he would take on all-comers in future.

A first career stoppage

Clarke had previously beaten Billam-Smith in a three-round amateur contest. Their latest meeting was a non-title fight between the British boxers. Fight promoter Dana White said after the bout that he felt the referee’s decision might have been premature.

Bentley wins on points

In the main support bout, Britain’s Denzel Bentley beat Shane Mosley Jr by unanimous decision. Bentley out-classed the American, who was bloodied but continued through the fight. Mosley survived a count and the remainder of that round, but Bentley kept landing punches. He finished strongly, at times keeping his hands down and moving around his opponent as he connected with shots that drew applause. Bentley had been stripped of his WBO middleweight title in late October after agreeing to fight Mosley rather than meet his mandatory challenger.