How a unique night of action could lay groundwork for boxing’s next future super-fight

Sign up to our free sport newsletter for all the latest news on everything from cycling to boxing Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news Sign up to our free sport email for all the latest news SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. On Saturday night, Billam-Smith fought outdoors, under the stars at the Vitality Stadium in front of a capacity crowd of 15,000 in his beloved Bournemouth, and he shocked the boxing world by dropping Lawrence Okolie three times and winning the WBO cruiserweight title. Several hundred miles away in Manchester, there was sweet revenge for Leigh Wood in his WBA featherweight rematch with Mauricio Lara, the fearsome Mexican; just 98-days before the first bell, Lara stopped Wood in round seven, but in Manchester, Wood won clearly on all three scorecards. However, there was old-fashioned heartache for Michael Conlan in Belfast when a capacity crowd was not enough, the hopes of a boxing city were not enough, and he was dropped and stopped in round five by Luis Alberto Lopez for the IBF featherweight title. It was a unique night in the British boxing calendar, and it could lead to a few other great nights; Billam-Smith in a rematch, Wood in a defence against his great rival, Warrington, and then the winner to meet Lopez in a featherweight super-fight.