Stephen Smith Loses IBF World Title Fight

In the early hours of Sunday morning, UK time Stephen Smith was hoping to become a world champion.

Stephen, one of four fighting Smith brothers, was hoping to emulate the achievements of his brother Liam in becoming a reigning world champion.

However, fighting the unbeaten Puerto Rican fighter Jose Pedraza, for his IBF super-featherweight crown was always going to be a hard task and that is exactly how it turned out.

Stephen Smith lost a unanimous points decision with the judges scoring the contest:

? 117 ? 110
? 116 ? 111
? 116 ? 111

Smith didn?t get off to the best of starts but started to come into the fight in the middle rounds, in a bout that was held in Connecticut, USA.

But getting knocked down in the ninth round by the accurate, hard and fast hands of Pedraza, didn?t help Smith?s cause and there were no arguments from the Smith camp when the verdicts were announced.

The decision means that 30-year-old Stephen Smith has now lost two out of his twenty-fights but we?re pretty positive the Liverpudlian can rebuild his career and come again.