Smith suffers first round loss

Smith, 23, was stopped after just 1.46mins and, after winning on his pro debut, the Lutonian has now lost his last four bouts.

Although unable to be there, trainer Graham Earl felt the referee had stepped in too early.

He said: “He went in there doing his job and he will have a good fight with anyone

“He is happy and will dust himself off and will be back out in April and fighting in Glasgow.”

Earl was in fact looking after another of his fighters, Jay Morris, who was finally stopped in the fifth round by Tommy Coward at Doncaster Dome, despite having fought from the first round with a burst eardrum.

It was Coward’s sixth win, while Morris has now won 15, lost 24 and drawn three.

Earl said: “He couldn’t really throw anything back so it was the right stoppage.”