Sam O'maison bows to power of Dalton Smith in British title challenge

Beaten Sam O'maison (right) with Dalton Smith. Pictures courtesy of Mark Robinson and Matthew Pover/Matchroom Boxing.

But that, sadly for him, is as generous as even his staunchest fan could be after he was stopped in the sixth round of his British Super Lightweight title showdown with runaway favourite Dalton Smith.

The Waverley boxer had said he'd wanted to make his mark on the sport in the bill-topping event at Sheffield Arena last Saturday.

But all the marks were on his own battered face in a gruelling contest that saw him hit the canvas three times.

Smith — who beat Rotherham's Lee Appleyard to the English title last year — eased his way to his 10th, and most impressive, KO out of 12 bouts.

There was no disgrace for O'maison in the early finish.

He had been brave and resistant.

But Smith is a next-gen fighter who could go on to take Kell Brook's place at the top of South Yorkshire boxing's pyramid.

The 25-year-old body puncher and ruthless finisher had too much for a southpaw who had boxed just four competitive rounds in 1,064 days.

O'maison (previously W17 L3 D1) had been served a warning of what was to come, in round two, with a chilling right hand to his chin.

In the next round, a flurry of punches put him down.

Two big right hands put him down twice in the sixth and referee Marcus McDonnell waved matters to a conclusion.

There was a look in O'maison's eyes to suggest he could continue — but he must have known his title dream had become a nightmare.

O'maison said: "I couldn't get my distance right and prepared as best I could but, at the end of the day, Dalton's a class fighter."

The warrior isn't going out on his shield just yet though.

"I'll keep at it, I'm willing to take the fights.

"I'll go away, take a break and regroup. I've got a few more good years left in me and I'll definitely be back."

Fans of Rotherham boxing did have some satisfaction on the Arena bill.

Junaid Bostan, a 20-year-old Steel City stablemate of Smith's, put on a masterful demolition of Jose Manuel Lopez Clavero, a 37-year-old Spaniard.

With confidence belying the fact it was the Eastwood switch hitter's second professional scrap, Bostan displayed some of the techniques and tricks that Naseem Hamed deployed in his heyday, forcing a sixth-round stoppage.

Keep an eye out for this former Clifton Community Schoolboy — like Smith, he is going places.