The 25 year-old did what nobody before him, including UK rival James DeGale, could do and halted the tough Frenchman to lay down a world title marker to the rest of the division.
Smith was on top from the off – and you could see he had bad intentions, wobbling Mohoumadi before going in for the kill at the halfway point of the opening session. ‘Mundo’ once again displayed great shot selection to completely dismantle the European champion and take his title in what was also a WBC title eliminator.
The youngest of the four Smith brothers, Callum is now in line to meet the victor of the semi-finals between champion Badou Jack and challenger Lucian Bute, plus IBF belt holder DeGale and his next opponent Rogelio Medina.
Due to this min-tournament, Smith faces a slight wait for his shot despite hopes of fighting for the coveted green belt as early as September. The winners, currently favoured to be Jack v DeGale, would meet around that time in the United States – although there could potentially be the chance of an undercard slot for Smith before he himself faces the unified champion.
In the co-feature, Sean ‘Masher’ Dodd threatened to steal the headlines with a tactically astute performance that looked for all the world as though it would bring him the British lightweight title.
Dodd boasted the biggest support of the night as the crowd chanted, ‘Masher – Boom Bi Yay’ throughout his rematch with Scott Cardle, which ultimately ended in a majority draw. Judges carded 116-114 to Cardle and 114-114 twice as the champion clung to his Lonsdale Belt by the skin of his teeth.
I scored the fight 114-114 myself – giving each fighter six rounds, although Dodd was unlucky and may well have slightly deserved to take the nod after frustrating Cardle for long spells.
