Chev Clarke upset the odds by stopping former world champion Chris Billam-Smith to breathe new life into his cruiserweight career

Cheavon Clarke punched himself into world title contention after stopping long-time rival Chris Billam-Smith in a stunning upset.

The 35-year-old was heading into their Copper Box clash with all the bragging rights having beaten Billam-Smith on the amateur scene 10 years ago. After back-to-back defeats to Leonardo Mosquea and Viddal Riley, Clarke was forced to work his way up - put has put the division on notice with a stunning upset win.

With the cruiserweight division starting to heat up following the news that two-time undisputed heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk was to move back down, Clarke was itching to prove why he should be considered as one of the top players in the division and throw his name into contention for a crack at gold.

It was a rather quiet opening three minutes as both men were merely trying to get a read of each other. But Billam-Smith put his foot on the gas in the dying moments, and tagged his long-time foe coming in. Clarke seemed mildly happy making it a grappling match, but a locked-in Billam-Smith found a way to get out of bother, and pile on the pressure. As the crowd roared on the 'Gentleman,' the Bournemouth scrapper answered their prayers and ended the second on the front foot.

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A sneaky right hand from Billam-Smith in the opening moments of the third just send Clarke backpedalling a tad, before firing a sharp uppercut counter - his best shot in the first three rounds. While the eye-cacthing shot should have sprung Clarke into life, it proved to be anything but as he went back to grappling. It was Billam-Smith who found himself ending the third strongest as he landed a tidy combination upstairs.

The fourth saw the round dominated by more grappling and holding as the referee was forced to step in yet again. But Clarke detonated a right hand to end the strongest. As the fifth threatened to be yet another grappling battle, Clarke appeared to stun Billam-Smith with a clubbing right hand, forcing the Bournemouth native to hold on. Clarke's bizarre attacks seemed to pay dividends heading into the midway point.

Both men, visibly donning damage, began trading right hands. Billam-Smith found some brief success with the jab, but momentum quickly shift after Clarke came in on the offence. Billam-Smith was soon sent crashing to the canvas, but was quick to get back to his feet.

That said, Clarke was smelling blood as he saw his long-time adversary on wobbly legs. Clarke dropped his rival twice more with several piercing combinations before the referee stepped in and waved off the clash - much to the frustration of 'CBS' who thought it was harsh.

Meanwhile, in the co-main event Denzel Bentley secured a points win on his Zuffa Boxing debut just weeks after being stripped of his WBO middleweight title. The London brawler came out with a real point to prove as he looks to establish himself as one of the faces of the Zuffa banner.

Shane Mosley Jr, son of boxing great Shane Mosley, was quite simply unable to build on his jaw-dropping win over Serhii Bohachuk earlier this year. The 35-year-old American boxing veteran had it all to do, and his first fight on British shores could not have gone any worse.

Bentley was quick off the blocks early doors - eager to stamp his authority. Mosley Jr, though, was happy to turn it into a scrappy affair. British brawler Bentley kept his composure and attacked on the backfoot. But it was very much a tactical chess match in the opening three minutes. Bentley and Mosley Jr were very much happy to work each other out and not get caught with anything major.

The second stanza saw Mosley Jr resort to hunting his foe yet again, circling him, and refusing to let Bentley breathe. Unfazed by the pressure, Bentley fired off a clubbing right hand which seemed to wobble his foe, before another onslaught sent Mosley Jr crashing to the canvas. But the durable American quickly rose to his feet. Rather than taking a backfoot, the American ended the round on top, and even snuck in a couple of shots of his own.

A firefight quickly ensued in the third as both fighters began trading in the pocket. Bentley, on his bike, caught Mosley Jr coming in with a sneaky left hand. Bentley decided to up the tempo in the final exchanges of the third, picking his shots nicely and managed to clip his foe - who eventually survived the round.

In the fourth, a rather wild exchange against the ropes saw Bentley make Mosley Jr pay for his sloppy approach. Just moments later, and the Brit connected with a stinging one-two followed by a right hand over the top. Mosley Jr's chin was required to work overtime as the American was absorbing attack after attack.

Despite appearing to sport some damage on the right eye, Mosley Jr began the fifth on the ascendancy, marching forward and piling on the pressure on Bentley. It felt like a real turning of the tide moment, as the London crowd began to get a bit restless. As Mosley Jr threatened to control proceedings in the sixth, Bentley bit down on his gumshield and resorted to jabbing away on the backfoot.

The seventh opened up towards the midway point when Bentley fired off a stinging left over the top, but it was Mosley Jr who ended strong and appeared to do some damage, forcing his foe to retreat. Both men were evidently tiring as the pair fired hard leather, but neither seemed to lad. A gun-shy Bentley just could not find a home for anything.

In the penultimate round, and Mosley Jr was very much in control. But at the midway point of the ninth, Bentley got to work behind the jab and managed to connect with some of his attacks - which set up an intriguing final three minutes. In the final round, while Mosley Jr was stilling pushing forward, it was Bentley who picked his shots well and managed to do some damage whilst back-pedalling. Despite Mosley Jr's late second half flurry, it was Bentley who got the nod on points as the official scorecards read: (96-94,96-93,95-94).