Stourport welterweight boxer Ernie Smith slipped to a 60-56 points defeat at the hands of Chesterfield's unbeaten Darrell Grafton at Barnsley's Metrodome Centre last night.

Grafton had won his first six contests, four of them inside the distance, and has developed a reputation as something of a big hitter along the way.

Smith made the better start, a busy left jab keeping the tall Grafton at bay for a time, and a hard right to the chin served as an early wake-up call for the Derbyshire man.

Grafton began to raise his game in the next and left Smith with a bloody nose after a mini-flurry. The action was far from one-way though and the round ended with Grafton backed onto the ropes.

The closing rounds went the way of Grafton who stayed busy behind the left jab, only really pulling away in the final session, but Smith still popped in the occasional hard left.

With ring legend Pat Cowdell in his corner Smith will be pleased not to have become Grafton's latest stoppage victim.