Tahmir Smalls outpoints Seantorious Martin in Houston to remain unbeaten

In a fight where someone’s ‘0’ had to go, it was Tahmir Smalls who held on to his.

The 25-year-old Smalls from Philadelphia defeated Seantorious Martin by unanimous decision on Friday night at the Red Owl Boxing Arena in Houston, Tex. The eight-round welterweight bout headlined a Red Owl Boxing card on DAZN.

The scores were 77-75, 77-75 and 78-74, all for Smalls (12-0, 8 knockouts), sending Martin (10-1, 6 KOs) of Marietta, Ga. to his first defeat.

The fight was a significant step-up for both, as neither had fought in an eight-rounder before, or faced an undefeated opponent.

““My corner told me to keep popping my jab and to keep my hands up,” said Smalls, who trained for this fight alongside IBF welterweight titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis. “Martin caught me with a right hand or two but that was due to me dropping my left hand. I was picking it up at the end of the fight. I will go back to the gym and work on it.”

In the co-main event, Elijah Williams took the top prize in the 140-pound tournament, defeating Dion Jones by sixth round stoppage. Williams (10-1, 4 KOs) of Newburgh, N.Y. had to rise off the canvas after being dropped in the opening round by a check hook, before eventually overwhelming Jones (7-1, 6 KOs) of Las Vegas with his aggression. Williams hurt Jones with an overhand right along the ropes, causing Jones to stumble and have the fight stopped without him going down.

“I did what I had to do, he is a good fighter. I got a little careless at times, especially early in the fight,” said the 21-year-old Williams.

“It’s up to the referee how the fight goes. I was going for the kill so all he did was stop it a little early.”

In earlier results, Joshafat Ortiz (13-1, 6 KOs) defeated Travis Crawford (7-3, 2 KOs) by unanimous decision in a six-round junior lightweight bout, with the scores being 58-55 on two cards and 57-56 on the third.