Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi far too good for Hassan Ndam and Marco Antonio Periban, respectively

Callum Smith delivered a clinical beating to challenger Hassan Ndam at MSG last night, en route to a third-round stoppage and first successful defence of the Super WBA super-middleweight title he took from George Groves in their WBSS final.

Game but outsized and outclassed, longtime middleweight Ndam was down in each of the three sessions the fight lasted. Showing poise and precision, Smith, tall and generally huge for the weight, dropped his foe with left hooks in the opening two stanzas, then a hefty right hand in the third. Ndam rose but was rightly judged unable to continue.

Smith now hopes for a showdown with superstar and WBA ’regular’ champion at his weight, Canelo Alvarez.

Also on the Anthony Joshua vs Andy Ruiz Jr undercard, fast-rising light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi improved to 11-0 (9) with a four-round drubbing of former world title challenger Marco Antonio Periban. The selection of the smaller, ageing Periban as the opponent suggested this was intended to be a showcase for the talented Londoner, and he did not disappoint.

He hammered Periban throughout before the latter’s early ability to partially evade and survive ultimately deserted him. A right hand decked the Mexican in the fourth and Buatsi, while over-eager, caused sufficient damage in the follow-up assault to convince the referee to step in.