Smith stopped in second round as Londoner defends titles
George Groves successfully defended his British and Commonwealth super-middleweight titles in impressive fashion as he stopped Paul Smith in the second round.
The local favourite floored his opponent with a fine right hook in round two at the Wembley Arena in London.
And although Smith managed to get to his feet, another right hand sent him straight back down to the canvas and prompted referee Victor Loughlin to stop the fight.
The Liverpool fighter, who was clearly in no state to continue, then stumbled across the ring into his corner as Groves claimed an emphatic victory.
Groves improved his unbeaten professional record to 14-0 with the win, with 11 of those successes coming by way of knockout.
But despite the Londoner's evident punching power, not many expected him to see off an experienced campaigner like Smith in such quick fashion.
In fact, it was Smith who landed the cleanest shot of the first round, rocking Groves with a solid right hand at the end of the opening three minutes.
Groves clearly recovered in between rounds, however, and authoritatively ended any hopes Smith had of an upset when he came out for the second.
Earlier, 2008 Olympian Billy Joe Saunders continued his steady start in the professional ranks with a one-sided points win over Gary Boulden to take his record to 11-0 and win the Southern Area middleweight title.
