Ward too good for Smith

Liverpool fighter Paul Smith junior lost his bout against the returning Andre Ward in California on Saturday night.

The fight was over in the second minute of the ninth round when Smith’s trainer Joe Gallagher threw in the towel, suspecting the bloodied 32-year-old had broken his nose.

Although ’The Real Gone Kid’ caught Ward with a good shot in the seventh round, he was on the back foot for much of the fight at Oakland’s Oracle Arena against his 31-year-old opponent.

Ward, who beat Carl Froch in 2011, dominated Smith in his first fight for 19 months because of issues with his former promoter and now boasts a record of 28-0.

The future is unclear for British super-middleweight champion Smith, who last year lost out in his challenge for Arthur Abraham’s WBO title in Germany.

Smith weighed in 4.4lbs over the 172-pound catchweight limit for his most recent bout and reportedly paid with a share of his purse.