By Elliot Foster

Liam Smith came out on top in an absorbing showdown.

The Liverpudlian was awarded the victory against previously undefeated Liam Williams after the Welshman’s corner pulled him out.

Williams, cut by the eye from what look like a head clash, was withdrawn by his trainer Gary Lockett at the beginning of round 10.

Smith was being outboxed in the early rounds as a dominant Williams cruised into a seemingly unassailable lead.

But the lead was just a point on all three judges’ scorecards at the time of the corner retirement.

The victory for an already-cut ‘Beefy’, at Manchester Arena, as part of the inaugural BT Sport and BoxNation bill which will be topped by the WBO lightweight title showdown between champion Terry Flanagan and number two-rated challenger Petr Petrov, was one which he achieved from an adverse point.

At the weigh-in on Friday, Smith came in overweight, meaning that the vacant WBO interim super-welterweight, which was at stake during the contest, could only be won by Williams.

But after the win, Smith will now be looking to engineer himself into another position of prominence within the world title picture.

Smith catapulted on the world scene last September, when he fought Saul "Canelo" Alvarez in the main event of an HBO Pay-Per-View from Texas. Smith lost his WBO 154-pound world title when he was knocked out in the ninth round. He returned to action last month in a stay busy fight that saw him win a four round decision.

Williams has a big 2016, with knockout wins over Gabor Gorbics, Gary Corcoran and Gustavo Sanchez.

Elsewhere, Jack Catterall outlined his credentials as a major player in the super-lightweight division with a scintillating display.

The Chorley native retained his WBO Inter-Continental title after dispatching of IBF International champion Martin Gethin in devastating fashion.

The referee Phil Edwards called a halt to the action after one minute and 40 seconds of the third round, deeming Walsall’s Gethin in no position to continue.

In defeat, Gethin drifted to 28-9-1 with 12 early while Catterall remained undefeated and rolls on to 18-0 (10 KOs).