'The Surgeon' dispatches 'Police' in clinical fashion

Adrian Frater, News Editor

WESTERN BUREAU:

National middleweight champion Ricardo 'The Surgeon' Smith extended his unbeaten record to 5-0 when he blunted the challenge of Donovan 'Police' Campbell in the feature bout of Sunday night's 'Boxing on the Waterfront' six-fight card at the Pier Complex in Montego Bay.

Despite ending the eight-round light middleweight bout with a badly swollen right eye, the resolute Smith was nonetheless quite clinical in beating back the challenge of Campbell, as all three judges awarded him the fight by the unanimous 80-72, 80-72 and 78-74 margin.

"We came well prepared for this bout and was always confident we would win," said Smith, whose popularity among locals swelled during the nationally-televised J.Wray & Nephew Contender Series, which was held earlier this year.

"My opponent came well prepared but I never felt pressure and was always in control," he added.

Smooth versus savage

While Smith was smooth with his body-punching style, Campbell was savage with his booming right-hand shots, one of which caused the cut over Smith's eye in the fourth round. However, Smith never looked like losing, taunting his opponent at times as he reeled off flashy head and body shots.

In the secondary feature, Tsetsi Davis dished out a savage beating on Glenroy 'Bumpy' Beckford, who floored him once but could not consolidate. Had it not been for his strong chin and ability to absorb body blows and his fierce determination, the fight would not have gone to the judges for their unanimous decision.

"I wanted to take him out by the third round but he was really tough," said Davis. "I fought the way I wanted to and had no real problems."

In the first of the three professional bouts, Commonwealth middleweight champion Sakima Mullings was silky smooth in dismantling Ian 'Hagler' Smith, who was knocked out two minutes and 21 seconds into the third round with a vicious body shot which could be heard all over the venue.

"It was a good fight, I trained for six rounds but my opponent only lasted for three," said Mullings. "I managed to do a lot of the things I wanted to do so I am pleased with my performance."

Plenty excitement

In the three-fight amateur card - which preceded the professional bouts - fans were treated to a lot of excitement as the enthusiastic fighters gave all they had to offer. In the end, all three fights ended in technical- knockout wins.

In the first bout, Kemal Russell floored Shawn Welby on his way to registering a first-round win in their light-heavyweight bout, while in the second fight, Rohan Robinson stopped Ramon Lewis in the third round of their welterweight clash. Jermaine Bowen ended the third fight against Michael Gardener in the second round after rocking his opponent with savage shots.

"We are very encouraged by both the support of the fans and the quality of the fights," said Robin Russell of Robin and Tango Promotions. "You can look out for many more such fight cards in the near future."