PAUL SMITH retained his British super-middleweight title with a unanimous points victory over Tony Dodson at the Echo Arena tonight.
In a battle full of commitment and one which swung with each round, hanging in the balance for long periods, Smith was given the nod by the three sides judges after a blood splattered 12 rounds.
Ringside officials scored the fight 116-111, 115-112 and 117-112 in the champion's favour though many felt the fight much closer than the scorecards suggested.
Dodson boxed technically sound for much of the contest, to the surprise of many, whilst Smith appeared far keener on landing telling blows, often lining up the big shots as he looked for the knockout.
Challenger Dodson's smart boxing often saw the British title holder failing to land with a cut to the left eye no doubt played a significant part in Smith's brave tactics as the threat of blood stoppage preyed on his mind.
But the Lonsdale Belt holder clung onto his crown with some spirited boxing in the final few rounds.
That both boxers emerged with great credit from such a high stakes occasion and one which had the bear the added weight of a city's expectations, is to be applauded.
Elsewhere on the card, Tony Bellew claimed the vacant light-heavyweight Commonwealth title in typically whirlwind fashion, despite the early scare.
The Wavertree 'Bomber' extended his record to 13-0 when stopping Ghanaian challenger Atoli Moore after 2:27 of the first round to secure his first major professional title.
Although the records will show yet another TKO on Bellew's burgeoning slate, Moore gave brief concern to his supporters when catching him in the opening exchanges with a wild right hand which jolted the Liverpool boxer into action.
Bellew quickly regained composure, working sensibly off his jab and behind higher guard and it was not long before he figured out Moore's intentions to go for broke early.
Moore abandoned any notion of the sweet science in favour of a brawling his way at Bellew with uncontrolled shots but the it proved a limited game plan as the home fighter seized the opportunity to end the bout prematurely with just over 30 seconds remaining.
A smothering array of shots convinced referee Marcus MacDonald the African could go on no longer and Bellew gave the home fans the exciting finish they craved.
Prior to Bellew's triumph, the younger Smith brothers upheld their end of the family bargain with the wins to extend their respective unbeaten runs in the paid ranks.
Liam Smith scored a 40-36 points win over Billy Smith with his most mature performance to date over found rounds and now sits 5-0.
Meanwhile older sibling Stephen took the frustrations of being paired with journeyman fighter Jason Thomas by ruthlessly halting the Welshman after just 1:17 of the first round.
Sheffield's Kell Brook won the evening's other title fight when stopping Poland's Krzysztof Bienias after 2:47 of round six in their WBO International welterweight title contest.
The bout also acted as a WBO title eliminator but the one-sided nature of the fight made a mockery of Bienias' ranking of fourth in the world.
Brook dominated throughout but found his opponent durable but seemingly reluctant to return any shots, opting to sit behind his guard as hope to weather the storm.
However it tactic doomed to failure as Brook was relentless throughout in what evolved into a glorified sparring session for the Sheffield man who now goes to 21-0 and no doubt on to genuine world class opposition.
Former cruiserweight king Enzo Maccarinelli also made light work of Zoltan Czekis winning inside the first round with a brutal body shot doing the damage.
Czekis beat the eight count but the referee deemed him unfit to continue.
