Billam-Smith defends title

WBO cruiserweight champion Chris Billam-Smith (19-1, 13 KOs) retained his title with an eighth-round TKO win Mateusha Masternak (47-6, 31 KOs) on Sunday at the Bournemouth International Centre, England.

Masternak outworked and outplayed the local crowd favorite for most of the fight. Billam-Smith, however, was celebrating his victory when Masternak suddenly withdrew from continuing the fight in the corner after the seventh round, citing a rib injury. The official time of stopping the fight was 0:02 of the eighth round. At the time of the stoppage, Masternak was leading with a score of 5-2 according to two judges.