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Liam Smith claimed bragging rights in Liverpool as he stopped Anthony Fowler in round eight of their super welterweight showdown.
The two men were going head to head at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, on a Matchroom Boxing event that was broadcast live on DAZN.
After a tough opening round, Smith (30-3-1, 17 KOs) began to dominate proceedings and it looked like it could have been over when he dropped Fowler (15-2, 12 KOs) in round five.
Fowler showed toughness to get up, but Smith continued to dictate how the fight went, and after dropping Fowler again in round eight, the referee waved it off and Smith came out on top in the local derby.
Smith would now like to get a fight made with former two division world champion Jessie Vargas.
Smith said: “It was a great fight and I knew it would be competitive, especially for the first six rounds. He’s a quality fighter when he’s fresh, but I said all along about experience. I feel I’ve got a good enough chin at this level as I’ve been hit by bigger punchers.
“I started slow, but then I did a good job after that. I thought it was over in the fifth, so he did well getting up. I let him off the hook a bit in the next round too.
“I had to make it personal on my own behalf, as if I lost I was finished, so I had to do something to switch it on. Hopefully we can make the Jessie Vargas fight now. Thank you to everyone who came out, it was a night I’ll never forget.”