Welshman Lee Selby has moved a step closer to a shot at the WBC featherweight title after easing to a points win against Romulo Koasicha.
Selby was headlining Matchroom Sport's 'The Second Coming' show in Cardiff, and the supporters were sent home happy after Nathan Cleverly returned to action with a second-round stoppage of Sean Corbin.
Elsewhere on the card, Gavin Rees ended his professional career with a win over Gary Buckland, while Callum Smith and Paul Smith both recorded second-round victories.
Read below to see how the action unfolded at the Motorpoint Arena.
Hello, and welcome to Sports Mole's live coverage of Matchroom Sport's 'The Second Coming' show, which is taking place at the Motorpoint Arena in Cardiff.
World title eliminators, former world champions, world title tune-up fights and up-and-coming talents - what a night is in store in Cardiff!
Lee Selby, Nathan Cleverly and Gavin Rees are all in action later this evening, but first up tonight is Paul Smith's eight-round bout with David Sarabia.
In theory, this should be a routine fight for Smith, who took the fight after missing out in performing in front of his home crowd in Liverpool in March because of an elbow infection. Smith is in line to challenge for the WBO belt in the autumn, but he must come through this test with flying colours.
The referee has given his final instructions. We are underway in Cardiff!
Both men show plenty of willingness to throw shots in the opening 60 seconds, and it doesn't appear as though either men are prepared to box on the back foot. SARABIA IS DOWN! Both fighters when for an over-the-top right and it was Smith who connected, but Sarabia easily beats the count. Sarabia looks to have recovered, but near the end of the round, he got caught with a short right. A 10-8 round for Smith.
SMITH WINS BY TKO! Sarabia has never been stopped in his professional career, but he is getting totally pummelled by Smith, and the referee is forced to step in after at least a dozen unanswered punches. A devastating performance!
I wonder what Arthur Abraham made of that? Sarabia was limited, but that was a clinical display from Smith. He needed that after nearly half a year away from the ring.
Smith has confirmed in his post-fight interview that he is prepared to travel to Germany to face the champion. It will be a tough ask for the British titlist but that was a firm statement of intent.
Coming up next is Smith's younger brother, Callum, who will look to extend his unbeaten record to 11 fights when he faces Tobias Webb. That should be coming up in around 10 minutes time.
Forget that 10-minute countdown, both fighters are on their way to the ring!
This will be a new test for Smith. It will be his first time fighting in another fighter's back yard, and although he is the clear favourite to prevail, he will have to find a way to subdue Webb, who has only lost once in his 16-fight career.
This is scheduled to be a 10-round fight, but I would be surprised if it goes the distance. The bell has sounded.
Webb is down inside the first 60 seconds, but it was a slip after a wild attempt at a punch from Smith. After the slip, it's been a busy start from Webb, who steps in and out with a flurry of punches, but Smith looks untroubled. The pair are trading blows, and Webb is showing plenty of snap in his punches. This was slightly unexpected. I'd give that first round to Webb.
Smith needs a response to that opening three minutes from Webb. He can't be offered any encouragement to continue coming forward. Smith shows so much aggression over a short period and he floors Webb with a body shot! He looks done, but he is up. Not for long though, as Smith connects again with a second crippling body shot! The referee should considering waving this off, and Webb is down for a third time! Can he make the end of the round? No he can't! Smith wins in two rounds!
CALLUM SMITH STOPS TOBIAS WEBB IN TWO ROUNDS!
Webb took the opener, but Smith showed why he is one of the most highly-rated prospects in the world during the second. Four knockdowns, all of which came after shots to the body, and Smith improves his record to 11 wins from 11 fights, nine of which have come by stoppage.
We should also pay credit to Webb, who showed tremendous heart to get up off the canvas three times in the space of a round, but the fourth shot was too much to handle, and even if he did make it to the end of the stanza, I'm pretty sure the fight would have been called off.
In his post-fight interview, Smith has talked about fulfilling a dream of becoming world champion. It would take a brave man to bet against it. I'm sure that he will face sterner tests in the future, though, and he still needs to develop certain aspects of his style.
Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that Smith will be back out in Liverpool in July, and he has indicated that he intends to deliver a step-up for the youngest of the four Smith siblings.
Next up will be Gavin Rees against Gary Buckland. Given the quick nature of the first two fights, they may hold fire for quarter-of-an-hour before introducing the two men.
The rematch between Rees and Buckland will be getting started in just a few minutes. Remember, Buckland won the first encounter in February, but many thought that Rees edged that bout. Here comes Rees, who will be making his final appearance in the sport.
Both men are from Wales, but Rees definitely has the majority of the support. A sentimental touch, perhaps.
The bookies have got Buckland as the marginal favourite, but I'd say it's going to be hard to dent the desire of Rees tonight. He will be laying everything on the line. He has suffered defeats in his last three outings - he won't want to bow out with a fourth.
Rees is getting a standing ovation on the pre-fight introductions - imagine the noise at the end of the match!
The bell has sounded. We are underway.
As you can imagine, neither man are shy with getting their shots away, but despite several hard-hitting punches, both men emerge unscathed. After the midway point of the round, Rees lands a clean punch that rocks Buckland back, but his opponent responded with a sweet left hook. Rees looks sharp, and although Buckland ended the better, that was Rees's round.
Rees doesn't look like a man who is about to bring his career to an end. He is bobbing and weaving around Buckland's punches, and connecting with his own counters. The left hook looks a particular weapon. Buckland fires away at the body, but Rees pushes him back with another left. Both men go toe-to-toe, and now it's Buckland who is gaining the upper hand , and his volume of work wins him the round. One round apiece.
Despite the amount of activity of both men, this has 12 rounds written all over it. Buckland is fighting on the front foot, but that tactic is playing into Rees own gameplan. Rees catches Buckland with a thudding body shot, but Buckland looked untroubled. That was a difficult round to score. I'd give it Buckland purely on work-rate.
Much of the same from both men. There looks no threat of a stoppage, but Buckland enjoyed a lot of success at the start of the round. Rees flurried with a minute remaining, and caught his opponent with a couple of blows near the end, but again, I'd give it Buckland. It could be interpreted a completely different way though.
If Buckland can keep up this pace for 12 rounds, he wins, but it is a big if. He has already started to lean on Rees, which isn't the most encouraging sign. Rees is waiting for Buckland to come forward, and when he does, the snap in his punches isn't as hard as it was in the first 12 minutes. Rees is bouncing on his toes, almost show-boating, and he took a right at the end of the round, but that should be Rees's. 3-2 to Buckland on my card, but like I've said before, it could be the other way.
Buckland is back on top at the start of the sixth, but Rees responds with a one-two. In relation to the past five rounds, this one is quiet, as Buckland shows a bit more to his game rather than pure aggression, but it was a hard three minutes to score. I'd give each of them a share.
Buckland starts the round by hunting Rees down, and Rees is happy to engage him in a clinch to halt his momentum. Both fighters land, but neither possess much power. Rees attempts a short right, but Buckland counters well. This fight was definitely started to lose a bit of steam, and that is encouraging Rees to up his work-rate, and he takes the round convincingly. I've got this 67-67 with five rounds to go.
There is much more spring in the step of Rees, but it's not discouraging Buckland. He continues to come forward, but Rees picks him off with a couple of lefts. There is a lot more thought going into this, and for me, Rees's experience is beginning to shine through. It's a close round, but Rees probably just nicked that.
We are into the final four rounds, and after the lack of pace of the middle stanzas, I'd expect both fighters to up their levels now. Rees is beginning to land the harder punches, but Buckland is showing plenty of fight in response. Right on the bell, Rees landed beautifully with a body shot, and Buckland could be wiltering.
What a round. Rees starts the round where he left off, but backs comes Buckland with a brutal assault! He has opened a cut above Rees's eye too and just when it looked like it was going the Rees's way, Buckland is making a match out of this. I've got Rees one 96-95 up.
Both men looked exhausted after the previous round, but Rees finds a way through with a couple of short punches. Buckland is relentless with his come-forward approach, but he is looking tired now and Rees takes the round. 106-104 to Rees (in my opinion) with one round to go.
Both men embrace before the final bell. A great touch. This will be the final round of Rees's career. How will he do? Little happens during the opening minute, but an over-head right from Rees forces Buckland to hold. Rees lands another big shot but Buckland counters superbly. It's turning into a right tear-up! Rees is desperate for the stoppage, and he has Buckland running on empty. The final exchanges are a bit messy, but it's Rees's round. I have him winning 116-113 but we go to the judges.
Here come the scores.
117-113 to Rees. 116-113 to Buckland. and finally - 117-112 to Rees!
GAVIN REES RECORDS A SPLIT-DECISION WIN OVER GARY BUCKLAND!
Well I wasn't far off! I have no idea how one judge gave the fight three rounds in favour of Buckland, but it doesn't matter - Rees have the victory that he cherished. Buckland showed plenty of heart, but Rees was the classier of the two fighters.
Rees tell promoter Eddie Hearn not to phone him. I think that's his way of confirming that he is sticking to his plan to retire!
Next up in Cardiff is the return of Nathan Cleverly, who makes his debut at cruiserweight. This is a must-win for the former world light-heavyweight titlist.
Cleverly hasn't fought since he surrendered his world title to Sergey Kovalev, and that loss resulted in the 27-year-old questioning his future in the sport. After months of contemplation, he made the decision to move to cruiserweight, and over the course of the next 20 to 30 minutes, we will see how Cleverly looked in his new weight class.
Sean Corbin has made his way to the ring, and now it's time for Cleverly, who is getting a standing ovation from his home crowd.
There is a real sense of anticipation about this bout. First and foremost, Cleverly needs a win, but he needs to look good too.
That's the pre-fight introductions over and done with. Referee Richie Davies gets us started.
Cleverly starts positively with a couple of jabs, but Corbin looks ready to counter the Welshman. Cleverly is attempting to push the Guyana fighter back, but he is being met with plenty of aggression from his opponent. It's a bit of a messy round, but I'd give it Cleverly.
Corbin has most certainly come to fight, and he is targeting a right hand when Cleverly leads with his jab. However, a huge right uppercut from Cleverly lands cleanly, and it has Corbin in all kinds of trouble. The Guyana fighter stays on his feet, but Cleverly is in complete control and after several unanswered punches, a couple of which were huge, the referee calls off the fight.
NATHAN CLEVERLY STOPS SEAN CORBIN IN TWO ROUNDS!
Up until the stoppage, it had been a quiet fight, but before the concluding blows, Cleverly had softened Corbin up with an uppercut, and from then on, it was one-way traffic. The fact that Corbin didn't complain about the stoppage tells you that it was the correct decision.
Eddie Hearn has revealed that he hopes to get Cleverly, and rival Tony Bellew, on a card in Liverpool in July. If both are successful, they will clash at the end of the year.
Coming up next is the main event of the evening - Lee Selby's WBC featherweight eliminator against Mexican Romulo Koasicha. This has the makings of an even contest, and on paper at least, this looks like the toughest 12-round challenge of Selby's career.
A win for Selby could see him face Nonito Donaire in the summer, with the winner of that going on to meet WBC champion Jhonny Gonzalez. He would certainly find himself alongside the cream of the division. Is it too early? Who knows, but Selby needs to be tested before he can find out his true potential.
Romulo Koasicha has already made his way to the ring, and he is being followed by Lee Selby. The Welshman is walking to the ring with quite a swagger - he looks up for this.
Koasicha has suffered three defeats during his 24-fight career, but he has never been stopped. Selby has lost once in 19 fights, which was over a three-round distance, but he only has seven stoppages to his name. I'd say that there is a good chance of this going 12 rounds.
Selby is looking to execute the jab early on, but Koasicha gets in close on a couple of occasions. The Mexican is not shy in coming forward and he is catching Selby with the odd significant shot. It's a busy start from both, and the round could have gone either way. The judges may favour Selby because of the cleaner shots.
Koasicha misses with a number of punches, but his intentions are clear. Selby looks better suited to working on the counter, but from time to time, he is getting caught. That was Koasicha's round. I think Selby has a fight on his hands here.
Koasicha lands a huge left that staggers Selby, but after pushing the Mexican back, he responded with a flurry of punches against the ropes. Selby connects with a left hook but it didn't move Koasicha, and we've got a war developing at the Motorpoint Arena. Koasicha's head jolts back from a straight right hand but he his aggressive approach isn't being discouraged. Super round - probably the round of the night! Selby took that, despite the early trouble.
The Mexican begins the round more reversed than the previous three, but he just misses with a flashing right. It's a quiet round, but Selby fires a hurtful left to the body that momentarily stops Koasicha in his tracks. Another round to Selby - I have him 39-37 up.
Koasicha is beginning to sit on the back foot for the first time in the fight, and he allows Selby to boss the first half of the stanza. He is more offensive as the round nears a close, but Selby is successful with a left hook. That's another in the bag for Selby, but he has some damage over his right eye.
Selby is throwing the greater number of cleaner ounches, but Koasicha looks a threat when he gets on the inside. The Mexican looks in two minds on whether to come forward or sit back, but he should probably concentrate on being aggressive - that's where he is having the most joy. It's a closer round, but Selby takes it after producing the more classier work.
It's a quiet opening, but Koasicha appears to land with a couple of unanswered punches and for a brief moment, Selby is on the ropes, but he manages to regain his composure. The dup trade body shots, but neither have any damaging effect, and I had Koasicha edging that one. I've got it 68-65 to Selby after seven.
Selby starts the eighth with the same kind of swagger that he displayed on his way to the ring, but he gets caught by a left hook and the Welshman is rocked. Selby has to hold on for several seconds before regaining his senses, and this is by no means one-way traffic. Another round in the bag for Koasicha, and on my cards, there is just two in it with four rounds to go.
The home favourite needs to raise his game because Koasicha's confidence is on the up. The pair exchange respective flurries, but Selby appears to have more control of this round. He produces some super work in the closing stages to catch the judge's eye and that was a clear round for the 27-year-old.
Much of the same from Selby, who lands a head-jolting left uppercut, but Koasicha remains game and offers a positive reply. Selby edges a scrappy round. I have him 97-93 up.
The first 60 seconds are even, before Selby gets the better of the middle part of the round. Credit to Koasicha, he has kept coming forward, but Selby is putting together some super combinations and he takes another round.
Koasicha goes into the final round requiring a knockout, and he attempts to stalk Selby down with a sustained assault. However, Selby is taking the chance to get away some shots of his own and he is keeping the Mexican honest. The final moments of the fight are a bit messy, but Selby does what he needs to do to make sure of a unanimous points win. I have it 117-111.
The judges have awarded the bout unanimously in favour of Selby by scores of 119-109, 119-109, and 119-110 respectively. I'd say that is a little harsh on Koasicha, but nevertheless, the win was never in doubt.
For much of the fight, Selby was the outstanding competitor, but he still showed signs that he could benefit from a couple more bouts before he is moved up. He got tagged by a few significant shots from his opponent, and on another day, he could have been forced to get off the canvas.
Well, that will be all from Sports Mole's coverage of this show. I hope you enjoyed it! We will return on Wednesday with another packed bill from Leeds. Make sure you check out our coverage at the start of the week before we get underway at around 7pm on Wednesday night! Goodbye for now.
