Mitchell Smith has vowed he will improve against better opponents after criticising the “terrible” Cristian Palma following his fifth-round knock-out win on Saturday.

The 22-year-old former Bushey ABC fighter was untroubled by Palma (30-10-1) and stopped ‘El Tigre’ on his way to claiming the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Super Featherweight strap at Wembley Arena.

And whilst the fighter from Harrow Weald acknowledged it was not his best display, he lay the blame squarely at the door of his opponent.

“It was not my best performance today but it was one of those things; he just did not want to make a fight of it,” Smith told iFL TV.

“He was just terrible. He was all over the place. I could not find a rhythm against him and it was one of those things and one of those fighters who make you look bad.

“He kept dipping and was a bit all over the place and wild. It was a learning fight for me; I will take it back to the gym and learn on things and move onwards and upwards from there.”

He added: “Obviously I will get dug out for that performance but I will look better against people who are better than me. Whoever is put in front of me, I will find a way to win.”

The ‘Baby Faced Assassin’ had extra help prior to the bout in the former of Wealdstone super fan and internet sensation, Gordon Hill, better known as the Wealdstone Raider.

“He (Hill) has weight advantage on me so it is kind of tough and he’s been throwing me around in sparring,” joked Smith.

Hill added: “The man is going to be a world champion in about three weights.”