Chris Billam-Smith gained revenge on Richard Riakporhe to retain his WBO cruiserweight title at Selhurst Park.
The Bournemouth fighter had suffered the only defeat of his career when losing a split decision to Riakporhe in 2019, but five years on there was no doubt about the outcome this time.
Billam-Smith was busy and accurate, getting up close to Riakporhe and preventing him from unleashing his fearsome power, and only briefly did the man they call 'The Gentleman' look vulnerable.
On each occasion he was quickly back on the front foot and that was the story of the fight as Riakporhe was unable to respond to the urgent calls from his corner to throw first and to ensure he wasn't throwing only single shots.
His frustrations resulted in a point deducted for use of the head and with that in mind, judges' scorecards of 116-111, 115-112 and 115-112 were narrower than some onlookers expected.
Billam-Smith though celebrated like he knew he had won when the final bell rung and was right to do so, confirming afterwards that this was the best performance of his career to date.
"I think so," he told Sky Sports. "I like to think I boxed it to a tee, bar probably one round to be honest. I'm really pleased with the performance."
Asked what the difference between the two fighters was, Billam-Smith replied: "Experience. The speed, the game plan. Shane's (McGuigan, coach) a master, he's the best coach in the world.
"The game plan was spot on from Shane, and I'm really pleased how I executed it."
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