Samuel Antwi blasts Jez Smith away to win Southern Area strap
Samuel Antwi (9-1) blasted Jez Smith (11-1-1) away in the eighth-round of their February 16 meeting at the York Hall on a British Warriors Boxing event to win the vacant Southern Area welterweight title.
The 25-year-old from Harrow Weald, younger brother of Mitchell Smith, loaded up with single shots that missed widly and looked haggard throughout the later rounds.
Smith staggered all over the ring and was on the receiving end of very many unnecessary shots for a long time. He was trapped in the corner towards the end of the seventh stanza and was down from a right hand that Antwi lined up and delivered at will. He was down again moments later but was saved by the bell.
In the eighth-round, he was a sitting duck, doubled over, receiving way too much punishment and on his next drop, his corner rightfully threw in the towel.
In the opener, Smith started strong and had Antwi trapped on the ropes for a long time at the end of the first-round. In the second segment, Smith sensed blood and almost took the Londoner's head clean off with a counter-right in the opening moments. He waited patiently for the attacks and countered impeccably. The pair fought in close quarters and loaded up heavily on every shot.
It was a small hall thriller, which really ignited in the fourth-round when Antwi turned up the pressure and chased Smith all around the squared circle. Smith was forced to cover up and move away but was frequently trapped and caught copiously by the Stockwell man. He still threw back under the duress, but only in single shots that consistently missed their target.
Antwi kept up the tempo in the fifth and the Harrow Weald man was on the backfoot throughout. He was getting outjabbed by the enthused Londoner, but still fought back bravely.
Both boxers emplyed their jabs for the first minute of the seventh stanza, but Samuel soon continued the theme of backing Smith up against the ropes and was rewarded with a knockdown soon after increasing the pressure. He kept up the attacks and Smith went down again. The relentless attacks continued, it was the body shots from Antwi that were the most effective, but the bell chimed during the third count to offer Smith some valuable recovery time.
Smith came out for the eighth, but as soon as his corner realised his fate couldn't be changed, they threw in the towel to bring an end to the punishment.
Antwi was fitter and busier than Smith, who didn't look himself in there on the night. The win now puts Samuel Antwi in line for the winner of Ekow Essuman vs Tyrone Nurse for the English welterweight championship, taking place on March 16 at the Harvey Hadden Sports Centre in Nottingham.