Stephen Smith’s Las Vegas debut ended in bloody fashion as the Liverpudlian almost had his ear torn off against Francisco Vargas.
An accidental clash of heads caused the horror injury in the penultimate round, with Smith’s ear looking like it had been split down the middle.
The gruesome injury prompted referee Russell Mora to step in and call off the contest and Smith was already gone to receive treatment when the judges’ scorecards were read out.
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Vargas was given the nod by the judges with a 89-82, 88-83, 88-83 victory after dominating the fight before the unfortunate clash of heads.
Smith is believed to have had his ear stitched up and will travel back to England in the coming week.
The super-featherweight fighter had travelled to Sin City in an attempt to secure a third world title shot.
Smith now returns home to Liverpool bitterly disappointed with a nasty injury after becoming just the second Scouser to fight in Vegas.
