British Scene Weekend Recap: Scrappy Smith Retains Title

Dave Oakes recaps this past Friday's British super-middleweight title match-up between Paul Smith and Tony Dodson.

Paul Smith retained his British super-middleweight belt on Friday night. Once again he struggled to impress in a fight that was scrappy yet captivating.

The first round was uneventful in terms of action but Smith suffered a horrendous cut around his left eye after an accidental head clash. Blood was streaming down the side of the champions face and it looked like a potential fight finisher. Thankfully for Smith, he had one of the best cutsmen in the business in his corner and Mick Williamson worked his magic throughout to keep Smith in the fight.

Smith started the second more urgently than he had the first, no doubt due to the cut playing on his mind; he landed a great right hand and dominated the majority of the round. Dodson did land a solid left hook midway through the round but Smith responded with another right hand to the temple of the challenger.

The blood from Smith’s left eye was still running down his face and yet another head clash opened up a deep wound in the middle of his forehead. To say he looked a mess would be a serious understatement – he looked like something out of a horror movie.

The third was a better round for Dodson, Smith landed two nice left hooks at the beginning of the round but did little else other than smother his work and throw a couple of flimsy looking jabs. Dodson didn’t do a great deal to win the round, he landed a left hook to Smith’s jaw and jabbed well, but it was Smith’s lack of work-rate that allowed Dodson to edge the round on my card.

The referee had a word with both combatants at the start of the fourth, telling them to tidy up the action. He was correct to do so but it made little difference as they both continued to box in the same manner for the remainder of the fight.

The round was another close one, neither fighter was landing cleanly and neither was establishing any sort of control over the other. Smith did land a left hook – straight right combination but did little else other than get too close to throw anything of substance at Dodson, who seemed incapable of doing anything other than grabbing and mauling Smith.

The fifth round saw Smith hurt Dodson with a chopping right to the temple, Dodson wasn’t badly shook up but you could tell the punch had an effect and Dodson was happy to hold on and see out the round without engaging.

Dodson came back well in the sixth, he landed a massive right uppercut and generally bossed the round. Smith was still smothering his work, whilst Dodson looked the more composed of the two.

The referee issued another lecture about excessive clinching to both boxers during the seventh round, at this stage it was pretty pointless as it was obvious that their styles weren’t mixing at all well. The recurring theme of Smith charging in and Dodson clinching resumed almost immediately, although Dodson did land a few shots to the body when in the clinches.

The fight was still there for the taking going into the eighth, Dodson wasn’t landing much clean, and whilst Smith wasn’t either, he did seem to up the pace in this round. Two solid left hooks, one midway through the round and one to close it, were enough to give the round to Smith.

The champion had his best round of the fight in the ninth; he was caught by a Dodson straight right early on but came back with a better right of his own. Smith then proceeded to bully Dodson around the ring; he landed a crisp left hook under the ribs and followed it moments later with another straight right that seemed to momentarily stiffen Dodson’s legs.

The round was Smith’s by a mile and it was a big turning point in the fight, it had been fairly close up until that point but Dodson faded from the ninth onwards. He was also warned for excessive holding, a warning that would have consequences in the tenth round.

Smith landed an accurate right uppercut at the beginning of the tenth round and was looking to go to the body more after the success of the previous session. Dodson continued to hold and having already warned him previously, the referee decided to deduct a point. It was still a scrappy fight but Smith’s better fitness and work rate were now helping him to edge the round, a round which he won 10-8 due to the point deduction.

The most entertaining round of the fight was the eleventh. Smith was all over Dodson like a cheap suit at the start of the round, he landed two left hooks that sent Dodson back to the ropes, Smith kept him there whilst he winged away to body and head. Dodson managed to comeback with a heavy right hook of his own later in the round but Smith took a step back, composed himself, and retaliated with a volley of punches.

Dave Caldwell, Dodson’s cornerman, implored him to give everything and go for the knockout in the final round. He, like everyone else, knew that Smith was ahead and the only way Dodson could win was if he produced an unlikely stoppage. To his credit, Dodson did seem to give everything in the final three minutes, he landed a few clubbing hooks and exchanged uppercuts with Smith, who was fighting fire with fire.

The fans at ringside were on their feet during the last minute as the pair exchanged shots and battled all the way to the final bell. It wasn’t the greatest fight technically and was untidy all the way through but there was something about it that had everyone engrossed.

There was no doubt who the winner was and all three judges scored the bout in favour of Smith (117-112, 116-111 and 115-112). Smith will be happy that he retained his title but might not be so happy about the way he performed; he always seems to box at the same level as what his opponent is and stifles his skills by getting too close to his opponent. He’s definitely got ability but he’s failing to produce it at championship level and is relying on heart and determination too much to get him through fights he should be winning a little more easily.

The win takes him to 29-1 (15 KO’s) and leaves him in a good position to challenge Brian Magee for the Belfast man’s European belt. Smith must improve on his previous two performances if he’s to stand a chance of beating the experienced Magee.

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