WATCH: Liam Smith Becomes The FIRST Man To Stop Jessie Vargas

Written by Jared Parry on 1st May 2022.

Liam Smith produced a huge victory last night in Madison Square Garden as he became the first man to stop the tough Jessie Vargas in a thrilling bout.

Both men are former world champions, and entered this bout with 34 bouts each behind them, looking to launch themselves back into contention to capture another world title.

These two men had styles that gelled perfectly, and that was apparent from the opening round as the pair instantly began trading hooks and uppercuts.

Smith was cut in the third over his right eye, Vargas had seemed to get the better of the round, but Smith showed his grit as he began to march Vargas down in the fourth.

By round six, Smith had gained a foothold in the fight as he began to break Vargas' spirit with his relentless pressure.

Smith rifled a huge body shot in on Vargas in the seventh, appearing to hurt his American foe. Smith once again had Vargas wincing in round nine, but Vargas fought fire with fire as he came back with some shots, but Smith dealt with these well.

It was curtains for Vargas in round ten though, as Smith pinned Vargas against the ropes and unloaded, prompting referee Steve Willis to stop the bout, giving Smith a huge victory in The Garden.

The super welterweight division is bursting at the seam with talent right now, so we know whoever Smith is matched with next, it will be a huge fight, potentially even another crack at world honours.

Full fight highlights can be found below.