CALLUM SMITH handed Josh Buatsi the first defeat of his career with an age-defying performance of brilliant brutality and courage.
The Liverpool light-heavyweight hero looked close to retirement after punishing losses to Canelo Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev left him beaten and adrift.
But he stood up to the tough Ghana-born favourite, sucked up all of his best shots and won a unanimous decision.
The three ringside judges had the horrible job of splitting the two marvellous men – with Steve Gray going far too wide – and decided: 119-110, 115-113 and 116-112.
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Despite both light-heavy beanpoles being tall and technical range-fighters, the best action of the opener was up close and personal.
The pair clinches and swapped hooks like little Mexicans.
Buatsi, 31, scored with a hook double to head and body but then Mundo landed a left hook to the ribs that echoed around the Riyadh arena.
Smith was bundled down once but it was rightly called a split that didn’t need a count.
Smith, 34, made a bright start to the second and made his ringside family roar with clever uppercuts.
But a Buatis left hook clipped his cheekbone and silenced the travelling Scousers and another even round followed.
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By the third round, former super-middle world champ Smith was using his superior experience and reach to score from a safe distance.
But then Buatsi peppered him with body blows toward the end of the session and for a second it seemed like Smith was folding to the canvas.
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Typically he dug deep and held on, even landing a long right hand before the bell.
In the fourth round, the two brilliant Englishmen glued their foreheads together and went to war.
Hooks slashed in from both sides as their torsos took a leather but it was Smith who walked back to his corner with a cut and welt around his right eye.
Smith enjoyed his best round in the fifth after Buatsi made a horrible start. The Croydon ace spent the first two minutes tucked up in his shell, absorbing blows on his tight guard.
His only respite came when a blow blew the mouthguard out of his mouth.
Smith totally dominated the session and Buatsi needed a drastic change of pace.
But it was Smith who raced up the gears, battering Buatsi throughout the sixth, with referee Howard Foster looking on the cusp of a stoppage.
Suddenly, with ten seconds left of the one-sided beating, Buatsi landed a huge left hook and it was Smith who was buzzed and struggling and glad to hear the bell.
Both warriors needed a breather in the seventh and took a break from the brutal hooks and right hands they had swapped.
They exchanged long and safe jabs and recuperated, it was a well-earned rest in a superb fight that was almost impossible to split.
Buatsi ate three scything right hands in the eighth that forced him backwards but, just before the bell, it was Smith who had to stagger backwards, onto the ropes, when he was tagged back with a reverse one-two.
In round nine, Buatsi completely gave up defending against Smith’s right hand and was peppered with the same predictable blow to make it a clear round for the 30-2 veteran.
In serious danger of drowning in the desert, Buatsi turned the tide in the tenth and ran away with the round with clinical combinations, thrown from angles.
But when he got greedy Smith shot back with that right and bought himself another round.
Smith’s daddy-long legs started to betray him in the eleventh, when Buatsi’s fresher engine started to make him look the most likely winner.
But both heroes kept punching and ducking and digging deeper and deeper.
They hugged before the start of the 12th, it was boxing perfection, the best of Britain.
Smith was forced into the backfoot but it was from there that he landed a right hand and left hook that wobbled Buatsi.
It was Smith’s turn to lose his gum shield with 50 seconds to go but there was enough time for both magnificent men to finish with a gunfight.
Smith’s team, led by brother Paul, raced into the ring to celebrate and Callum climbed the corner turnbuckles to wave victoriously to the crowd.
The pair embraced and waited for the judges to decide that Smith was back among the light-heavyweight world title race.
EASTENDERS fans are still reeling after the 40th anniversary episodes that aired last week.
The iconic BBC soap opera turned 40 last week, and to commemorate the milestone, a live episode aired.
In the live episode, Martin Fowler was tragically killed after a beam fell on his legs after the Queen Victoria pub suffered an explosion.
The devastating scenes came soon after Martin confessed his undying love for ex-wife Stacey Slater.
But ahead of the live episode and the other 40th anniversary episodes airing, fans were making an urgent plea for an iconic character to return to Walford.
Fans were desperate for one Slater family member to return to the soap to mark the show’s anniversary.
“With Lacey Turner going on maternity leave and presumably a Stacey exit – it’s perfect timing for Zoe’s return..” one person penned amid the anniversary episodes.
“Kathy’s comeback for the 30th was such a OMG moment. Will the 40th offer a similar surprise? I predict a Zoe Slater return,” speculated another.
A third tried to manifest Zoe Slater’s return, writing: “ZOE SLATER WILL RETURN TONIGHT LIVE ON #EASTENDERS.”
“If this big return in #Eastenders isn’t Zoe Slater, then quite frankly, I couldn’t give a f**k who it is,” said a fourth.
And now it has been revealed that Michelle Ryan, who played the role of Zoe Slater on the hit soap, has TURNED DOWN multiple offers to return.
“Bosses reached out to Michelle several times over the years, they would love to have her back.
“For example, as the soap was approaching its big 30th anniversary, it was a gentle approach asking if she would consider a return in the lead up to it all,” a source told MailOnline.
The source went on: “This was at the very early stages of their plans but Michelle refused and there was a lot of disappointment amongst bosses.”
They added how it’s “quite baffling” why she wouldn’t want to reprise her character.
“It’s been 20 years since she left Albert Square but still people are talking about her character,” they went on.
With the 40th anniversary of EastEnders coming up, fans are looking forward to some more incredible cameos from iconic faces of Walford's past. But who have we had so far?
Tracy-Ann Oberman – Oberman returned as Chrissie Watts, a character she last played nearly two decades ago.
Paul Bradley – Bradley returned as Nigel Bates, a character he last played over 25 years ago.
Micheal French – French returned as David Wicks, a character he last played two decades ago.
Patsy Palmer – Palmer returned as Bianca Jackson, a character she last played in 2019.
Ricky Groves – Groves returned as Garry Hobbs, a character who has not been seen since 2009.
Cliff Parisi – Parisi returned as Minty Peterson, a character who was last seen on the square in 2010.
Ross Kemp – Kemp has returned to play Grant Mitchell, a character he first played in 1990. The BBC has described Kemp’s storyline as “explosive”. Kemp said it was an “absolute honour” to return to the show.
Other aspects of the EastEnders 40th anniversary celebration include: A wedding between fan favorites, A huge explosion at the Queen Vic, and A live interactive episode.
Michelle previously admitted that she “got quite bored in the end” of playing Zoe.
Speaking to the Bristol Evening Post at the time of her show departure, she said: “Doing the same thing day in, day out. It’s just so boring. I like to jump from different things.
“I always saw EastEnders as an apprenticeship. I always wanted to go on and do different things. I have some really good friends from that show but the door is closed.”
Michelle, 40, played the iconic role of Zoe Slater in the hit soap, with her stepping into the role at just 15.
Making her first appearance in the soap back in 2000, alongside the rest of the Slater clan, Zoe was a fan-favourite.
Her character’s key storylines in the soap included discovering Kat Slater was her mother and not her sister, as well as being involved in the cover up of the murder of Den Watts.
Zoe was only in the soap for five years, yet made a huge impact.
Michelle departed the soap in June 2005 and has never reprised her role since.
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LONGSHOT
CAP DU NORD (3.40 Hereford)
He has tumbled to a low mark and all of his career wins have come at this time of the year. Trainer Christian Williams is in decent form too.
THIEF
SIR ROCK (2.30 Fontwell)
He likes it around here and is 4lb below his last winning mark so could be dangerous.
AMI BONDHU (4.00 Fontwell)
He ran a good race at Market Rasen last time and should be in the mix again.
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