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Liam Smith suffered a setback in Russia after a controversial points loss to Magomed Kurbanov on Friday Photo Credit: RCC Boxing Promotions
Former world champion, Liam Smith was defeated via unanimous decision in Ekaterinburg, Russia, as Magomed Kurbanov took the vacant WBO International Super Welterweight title in what was a questionable victory on Friday.
Smith (29-3-1, 16 KOs) was taking on a dangerous assignment against Kurbanov, and he was looking to catapult himself back into the mix at world title level, having lost his belt in a ninth round loss to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2016, and he then failed in a bid to win it back from Jaime Munguia in a points loss in July 2018.
It probably won’t go down in history among boxing’s greatest robberies, but Magomed Kurbanov’s unanimous decision win over Liam Smith today in Russia is certainly not without controversy.
Kurbanov (22-0, 13 KO) took the fight on scores of 115-113, 115-113, and 117-112 over 12 rounds, winning a minor WBO belt and putting himself likely in line for an eliminator with Tim Tszyu, should Tszyu beat Michael Zerafa in their fight on July 7.
Bad Left Hook scored the fight 116-112 for Smith (29-3-1, 16 KO), whose corner were predictably frustrated and unhappy with the decision. The two cards of 7-5 in Kurbanov’s favor could possibly be defended round-by-round; a lot of the rounds were competitive. But the 117-112 card for Kurbanov is pretty egregious, giving him eight rounds is very tough to do, let alone eight plus one even.